


All the Single Ladies

by Korderoo



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-05
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2017-12-28 11:25:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 51,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/991480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Korderoo/pseuds/Korderoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the library in desperate need of renovation, Storybrooke prepares for a fundraising dinner and bachelorette auction. What mischief and romance can be found as a result? SwanQueen with some RedBeauty </p>
<p>Rating is M as it will include adult content.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is a fluffy idea that came to me and wouldn’t leave me alone. I’d like to extend a huge thank you to my incomparable beta-reader Lupwned for her support and guidance (although all mistakes in this chapter are completely down to me). Please enjoy and leave a review if you do! 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, its characters, settings, etc. I am also deriving no profit from this other than my own satisfaction.

Emma Swan realized her eyes were drifting closed yet again and pinched her elbow to wake herself up.  It would not do to fall asleep in the town council meeting.  Already the mayor was glaring at her with a look that clearly said “Pay attention!”  She could not help feeling that these meetings were a complete waste of time.  The same inane issues always seemed to come up and she could not understand how the governing of such a small, sleepy town could possibly require this much discussion.

Of course, things had been anything but sleepy six months ago.  With the initial excitement of the curse breaking followed by her sojourn in the Enchanted Forest, things had gotten shaken up quite a bit.  Upon returning and discovering that Cora and Hook had also made their way to Storybrooke, the battle had commenced in earnest.  Emma had believed that things in the town would never be the same.  In many ways, they were changed, but in the time since Cora had been defeated and Hook had fled, the citizens had settled back into their previous Storybrooke habits with surprising resilience.  It had been decided that it was too dangerous for any inter-realm travel to continue considering the danger presented by Cora and Hook.  The populace determined in the end, albeit without unanimity, that they would remain in Storybrooke and pursue their happy endings here.

Snow had settled rather uncomfortably into running the town until she and Charming announced that she was pregnant.  She had found that being the mayor was considerably different and less to her taste than anticipated.  With the advent of their second child, she decided to resign her position as mayor and focus on her family.  Charming was all smiles as he continued to work at the Sheriff’s office with Emma.  He was clearly bursting with pride in his family and contentment with the small town life. 

With the position of mayor open there began a hard-fought election between Regina and George for the office.  Although Regina was still not universally popular in town, her defeat of Cora at risk of her own life had caused many to consider her attempted redemption as legitimate.  George campaigned hard against the former Evil Queen, but her experience and clear love of the town helped her to secure the office. 

As Emma considered everything that had changed over the last year, she felt a throbbing start at the back of her skull.  She was happy for her parents that they were clearly so thrilled at the prospect of the baby.  She had moved to an apartment with Henry, who now shared time equally between his two mothers.  Spending unrestricted time with her son was the highlight of her life now. 

Well that and getting under the skin of the recently re-elected mayor.  Over the last six months she had begun to realize that her strong inclination to get a rise out of Regina was less to do with animosity and more to do with a strong attraction she felt.  She had developed an almost absurd crush on the mayor.  She was certain that the brunette would never return her feelings and so she sought to elicit any kind of a response, even if it was crossed arms and rolled eyes.

With a tiny smirk at the thought, she took her coffee from the table and made sure to take a particularly obnoxious slurp of the tepid liquid.  This earned her a pointed glare and a small huff from the mayor.  She had to stifle a grin at the predictable response.  The mayor cleared her throat and straightened the papers in front of her.

“Our next item on the agenda is the proposed renovation and re-opening of the Storybrooke library.  Mr. Gold, the floor is yours to discuss the plans.”

Emma tuned out again having no interest in the proposed plans to renovate the library.  One of the more interesting developments over the last several months had been the developing dynamic between Mr. Gold and Belle.  Despite his clear affection for her, he had continued to practice dark magic to maintain the tenuous control he held over the town.  When he had left town for more than a month to find his son he had returned to find that Belle had formed a close relationship with Ruby.  It was clear to the town that there was mutual affection between the women, and Ruby had confided to Emma that she had never felt this way before. 

Mr. Gold had returned unsuccessful, having found his son who flatly refused to leave his wife and children to resume a relationship with the father who had cast him out years before.  When he further discovered that his beloved’s attention had shifted toward the young she-wolf, he had made the decision to attempt redemption for himself.  He had pushed for the renovation of the library as a gesture to show his love for Belle, even offering to finance a considerable portion of the project himself.  She had remained conflicted, feeling that she was obliged to support Gold in his recovery, but reluctant to sacrifice her budding relationship with Ruby.

Emma looked up at the librarian now as Gold yielded the floor to her with a solicitous bow and a smile.  She gave him a small smile before catching Ruby’s eye in the audience and taking a breath.

“Thank you, Rumple.  Through Rumplestiltskin’s generosity, we have secured approximately 50% of the money needed to complete the renovations as indicated in his report.  In order to raise funds for the remaining portion, we will be holding a gala event in one month’s time.  Granny has agreed to donate the food for the event so the cost of the tickets and dinner will go directly to the renovation project.  In addition, we plan to hold a bachelorette auction to raise additional funds.”

At this, Emma sat up straight, her attention finally fully on the meeting.

“Any single ladies willing to participate in the auction should indicate their interest by signing up at the library within the next two weeks.  Every participant must provide a biography giving whatever information they wish to have included in their introduction.  Participants will be expected to spend one day with the highest bidder.  Mr. Gold has agreed to participate as the auctioneer and therefore will be ineligible to bid, but all other citizens above the age of eighteen may participate.”

Emma’s eyes drifted to Ruby at these words, whose grin had grown decidedly wolfish at the news that her main competitor would be removed as an obstacle.  She made a mental note to be generous with her tips when picking up her morning cocoa the next few weeks. 

Even as she thought this, it occurred to her “ _I need to start saving money”._   A broad grin crept across her face as she began to daydream what she would do with a full day of the mayor to herself.  Immediately she began to plot and the rest of the meeting was lost on her.  She had glanced up a few times when Regina had noticed her eyes glazing over and pointedly cleared her throat, but the discussion of whether to add a stop sign to Maple Street and whether crossing guards were needed could not compete with the fantasy evolving in her head. 

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Later that evening, Emma had pulled out all of her paperwork trying to determine what money she had saved right now.  She wanted to ensure that regardless of the competition she was in a prime position to secure her day with Regina.  She had paperwork spread all over the table when Henry walked in from having dinner with Regina.

“What’s all this stuff?”

“Oh, just trying to figure out how much money I have in savings, whether there is anything I should be cashing in, boring stuff.”

“Is everything ok?  I mean, we have enough money, right?”

“Yes, of course, Henry, we’re fine.  I just might want to…um contribute to the library renovations.”

“Oh yeah!  I’m really excited that the library’s going to be open.  Mom was telling me about it at dinner.  She said that there’s going to be a fundraising dinner or something.”

“Yep.  It’s about a month away.  Did she say anything else about the dinner?” Emma tried to sound casual.  She felt uncomfortable asking Henry for information but she was dying to know if Regina was planning to participate in the auction.

Henry giggled as he said “Yeah, she said that there’s going to be a bachelorette auction.  She seemed really irritated about it.  She said that she thought it was “foolishness” and rolled her eyes a lot.”

“Did she say if she was going to participate?”  Emma kept her tone even but didn’t completely meet Henry’s eyes as she said it.

“She said she was going to have to for appearances, but she seemed unhappy about it.  Are you going to do it, too?”

Emma had not even thought about that aspect of the auction.  She supposed she probably should sign up.  It was for a good cause after all.

 “Probably so.  I suppose I should support the town as the sheriff and all.”

“Wait!  You said you were planning to contribute to the program.  Are you planning to bid?”

Emma felt a flush spreading up her neck and her ears reddened as she replied, “I hadn’t really given it much thought.”

Henry was far too observant a child to buy Emma’s line.  “You are!  Who are you planning to bid on?  Is it Ruby?  You know she’s with Belle, right?”

Emma was baffled how Henry seemed to always know the gossip of the town and gaped before replying, “No, of course not, Ruby is my friend.  I think she is planning on bidding herself.”

“Well, who else then?  Not Grandma because that would be weird.  And she’s not single anyway.  Wait!  Are you going to bid on my mom?!”

Emma’s face was bright red now and she could not meet Henry’s eye as she mumbled, “I don’t know…I thought maybe…not sure.”

“You totally should!  What would you do during your day, then?  Can I help?  We can call it Operation Stallion, because she loves horses, and…”

“Whoa, slow down, kid.  I think you might be jumping the gun a bit here.  I’m not sure if I have enough money, and maybe she won’t sign up, or…”

“Of course you’ll have enough money!  I have my lawn-mowing savings and we can cook instead of eating at Granny’s and…”

“Henry, I don’t want you to spend your money on this.  Why is this so important anyway?”

Henry rolled his eyes in a way that clearly communicated _Duh_ before continuing “Because Emma, you’ve liked her forever and this is your chance.”

Emma could only sputter at this.  “I have not.  Why would you even think that?”

“It’s so obvious.  You always make a point to see her and try to make her laugh or roll her eyes or something.  And you always look at her when she’s not looking.  And you always ask about her.  And you always defend her when people in town are mean about the stuff she did in the past.”

“Wow.  I um…I didn’t think it was so obvious.”

“Well, I’m sure it’s not to everyone, but nobody is around the two of you together as much as me” Henry added sagely.

Slightly mollified, Emma nodded.  “Well, I have some money in savings.  I have to make sure that whatever I end up bidding leaves enough to plan a really special day, though.”  Deciding that in planning the day she could probably use Henry’s assistance she said “Operation Stallion, huh?  I think we’re a go” with a wink.

“Great!  Now, I know that you need to save money, but the first thing we need to think about is getting you a new dress.”

“A dress?!  Henry, like I said, who knows if this plan will even work.”

“Yeah, but you’re going to need a fancy dress for the dinner.  After all, you’ll need to look amazing to get people to bid for you, too.”

Emma sighed as she realized he was right and estimated the damage this would do to her budget.

“Hey, I know!   Let’s talk to Grandma.  She knows a lot about making dresses and she might be able to help.”

“You’re right kid.  But let’s keep Operation Stallion between us for now.  Strictly need to know.”

He solemnly extended his pinky and linked it with hers in a sincere vow. 

“Meanwhile, I’ll start gathering intel.  We’ll need to know exactly how to approach this so that she won’t be able to resist you.  We have to plan the perfect day for when you win.”

Emma was unsure how to react to Henry’s clear enthusiasm for the project.  Still, his face had lit up at the idea, and he was already pulling out a notebook to start scheming.  She couldn’t help the indulgent grin that lifted the corners of her mouth.  And after all, perhaps his assistance would be needed if she were to truly knock the mayor’s socks off. 

As she pushed aside the paperwork and went into the kitchen to start dinner, she allowed her mind to drift back to the image she had of sharing an intimate dinner with the mayor and seeing that beautiful smile directed at her.  


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, much gratitude must be expressed for my phenomenal beta-reader Lupwned. But also MUCH LOVE to you readers! Thank you so much and please continue to read and review!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, its characters, settings, etc. I am also deriving no profit from this other than my own satisfaction.

The following Sunday evening, Emma and Henry knocked on the door at Charming and Snow’s place for “Family Dinner Night”.  They had settled on the tradition when Emma had moved out and although they still all saw each other nearly every day, all of them felt it was important to continue the gathering.  Snow opened the door beaming at them and gave both hugs before returning to the kitchen, where she and Charming were preparing pot roast.  Emma and Henry immediately fell into their usual task of setting the table together.

“Ok, kid.  Just remember, Operation Stallion is strictly need-to-know and for right now, they definitely are not in that category.”

“Of course, Emma.  We just need to ask whether they know who’s participating and about the dress issue.”

“Right.  I’ll handle the dress if you’ll take the gossip.  You seem to have a knack for knowing that stuff anyway.”

“Well, I do spend a lot of time talking to Ruby.”

Emma thought to herself that she would have to have a word with Ruby about what she shared with Henry.  She also realized in this moment that Ruby herself might be a good source of “intel” for Operation Stallion.  She cringed internally as she realized she was beginning to think of this ridiculous plan by Henry’s even more ridiculous name.  She was pulled out of her thoughts as Snow and Charming came into the Dining Room bearing serving dishes full of salad, pot roast, and bread.

“Everything smells amazing, Mom.”  Even after a year of knowing her roommate’s familial relationship to her, she still felt uncomfortable expressing it.  Still, she was really anxious to see whether Snow could help her with her dress and she knew that the simple act of calling her “Mom” made her happy.

Indeed, Snow beamed at her as she replied, “Thank you, Sweetheart.  Is everyone washed up?”  Henry and Emma both nodded as they sat down and began piling food on their plates.

“So Henry, how has school been?” asked Charming as he took a roll and passed the bread basket along.

Henry shrugged. “It’s ok.  We had to do a book report the other day and I got an A on mine.”

“That’s wonderful!  What book did you choose to write about?”

“Percy Jackson.  It’s about a boy who doesn’t know he’s a God.  It totally made sense to me because it’s just like everyone here not knowing who they really are.”

“And Emma, how are things at the station?  I know what Charming tells me of course, but I’d love to hear about how you think things are going in the town.  Are things still calm?”

“Yeah.  Things are fine.  Not a lot of excitement recently.”  Emma had a tendency at these dinners to speak in brief sentences between devouring her food.  Since Henry had come to live with her she had begun to cook some basic recipes for them, but she still could not hold a candle to her mother’s culinary prowess.

Charming and Snow exchanged a look before Charming nodded and Snow beamed, reaching for his hand and turning back to Emma and Henry. 

“Well, we went to see the doctor today and we learned the sex of the baby.”

“You did?” squeaked Henry “That’s so cool.  Is it a boy? It’s a boy, right?”

“Yes!  It’s a boy!”

Emma and Henry both jumped up and ran around the table to hug the ecstatic couple.  When Emma had first learned that her parents were having another child, she had felt a moment of heartache at the thought of how fortunate that child would be to be able to be with them, an experience she had spent her childhood wishing for.  But as her relationship with Henry grew she realized that if her childhood had not been as it was, she may have never had Henry and that would have been the worst curse imaginable.

When they all resumed their seats, Henry decided that it was time to get the ball rolling on Operation Stallion and casually asked “So, have you heard all about the fundraising dinner?”

“Of course, the whole town is talking about it.  Especially with the bachelorette auction and everything,” said Charming.

“We wondered whether you had any plans to participate, Emma.”

Emma tried to play it cool by stating “I thought I might.  I figured it would be best for the sheriff’s office to support the effort.”

Charming and Snow exchanged another look before Charming said, visibly uncomfortable, “Well, and maybe you’ll actually make a connection to someone.  You know, if the right person were to bid, maybe it would be nice.”

Snow picked up the thread here saying “So, what do you plan to wear for the dinner?  It will be formal and you have to have a dress.”

“That’s what I told her Grandma.  And I said maybe you could help her since you know about making dresses and stuff.”

“Thanks, Henry, I’ll take it from here.  Um…Yeah, basically what he said.  I don’t have a big budget for a dress or anything, so I thought maybe if you had some time you could help me figure something out.”

“Of course!  I’d love to.  I always imagined helping you to get ready for your first ball and this will be kind-of like that.” Snow’s eyes were looking suspiciously shiny.

“Yeah, well, that’s the thing.  I don’t want to look too princess-y.  No puffed sleeves or huge bows or anything.  I still want to look like me, just…you know, dressy me.”

“Well why don’t I come over tomorrow evening and look at the dresses you already have to get some ideas and then we’ll work together to come up with a design.”

“Ok, that sounds good.  But why don’t I bring them over here, if you’re willing to share your leftovers, of course,” Emma said sheepishly.

“So Grandma, have you heard about who else might be participating?”

“Well, I know that Ruby and Belle are both participating, because we had lunch yesterday and they were very excited about it.  Ruby said that Granny is participating,” Snow giggled at this and the others joined her in giggles.  “Leroy mentioned that Nova is planning to participate, which he seemed very excited about.  He also mentioned that he had talked to Abigail and both she and Regina are planning to participate.”

Charming scoffed, “I know Regina has to keep up appearances and I know that she’s reforming, but I still don’t see who’s going to bid…”

Emma’s ears began to redden as he said this, but to her surprise, it was Snow who cut him off saying, “Charming, I think you might be surprised.  She is still a beautiful woman and she’s always been considered desirable even at the height of her evil, but now she is truly trying to reform.  I bet she gets quite a few bids.” She shot a surreptitious glance at her daughter as she said this. 

Snow had observed the way her daughter defended the mayor time and again.  Although it was hard for her to understand at first, she was proud of her daughter and determined to see her find her happy ending.  She had a feeling before Emma even seemed to consciously understand her need to protect her son’s mother that her happy ending might just involve the mayor.  Watching the gratitude that washed over Emma’s face as she spoke now, she sensed that Emma was well aware of her feelings now.  She privately determined that this dress was going to be a knockout.

As everyone finished up their meal and brought the dishes into the kitchen, Snow grasped Emma’s arm and said gently “We’ll take care of the dishes tonight.  You had better get Henry over to Regina’s before the weather gets any colder.”

“Right, well, if you’re sure.  I will make sure to return the favor tomorrow night when I come over.  Thanks again for dinner Mom and for your help with my dress.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Sweetheart.  That’s what moms are for”.  She pulled Emma in giving her a kiss on the cheek before nudging her toward her father.

“Thanks, Dad.  I’ll see you tomorrow at the station.  And congratulations you guys, I can’t wait to meet my brother.”  Emma said giving him a quick one-armed hug.

“And my uncle!” Henry exclaimed as he hugged his Grandparents in turn before hurrying to get his coat and hat on. 

The three adults laughed at the way things had turned out, but it was with genuine mirth.

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Despite the short distance, Emma decided to drive Henry to Regina’s since the weather was taking a turn toward being extremely cold.  As they climbed into the car, Henry turned to her with a broad grin and said “Operation Stallion phase one complete.  The dress is taken care of now, and we didn’t even have to touch our budget yet.”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll have to buy the materials, but you’re right, that will still probably be considerably less expensive than buying a dress.  And I don’t know if I’d say that Phase One is totally complete.  I imagine I’ll have to sit through fittings and crazy design meetings and…ugh.  I really hate dresses.  Oh well.”

“Right, but still…now we have to think about Phase Two.”

“Ok, so what’s Phase Two?”

“Gathering intel on our target.  We need to figure out if she knows whether anyone else is planning to bid.  She might have already set up who she wants to win the auction.  Plus, we need to figure out what she would want to do on a date so that when you win it can be perfect.”

Emma had never considered that Regina, who had her hand in everything that happened in the town, might have determined who would be bidding on her.  She thought once again that she was fortunate to have such an insightful son; particularly since he knew the object of her affections better than anyone.

As she pulled up into the mansion’s driveway, she shared another smile with her son and said, “Ok, Henry.  We’ll commence Phase Two.  But please be subtle.  I mean if she catches on the whole Operation will be compromised and you know how suspicious she is.”

“Duh.  Listen, if anyone can get this intel from her it’s me.  She has a soft spot for me and she’ll overlook stuff.  Besides, I’m great at undercover missions.  Operation Cobra was awesome.”

Emma chuckled and said “Touché.  Ok, kid well let’s get this show on the road, I guess.”

They both got out of the car and walked up to the door together.  Henry pulled out his key to open the door but before he could twist it, the door opened and Regina stepped out.

“Come inside, Henry, it’s freezing out here.  Good evening, Miss Swan.  I trust things went well?”

“Things were great, Madame Mayor.  And how are you?”

“I am perfectly well.  It is far too cold for small talk out here.  Is there anything else or shall we both get on with our evenings?”

“No, nothing else.  I mean, that is…Henry’s all finished with his homework.  I thought you might want to be able to spend some time with him tonight.  I know that on Sunday nights you like to have game night.”

Regina looked surprised but simply said, “Well, thank you for that, Miss Swan.  I hope you’ll have a pleasant evening and since tomorrow is your day to pick up Henry from school, I will expect him home for dinner by 6:00.”

“Of course, Madame Mayor.  Good night!”  Emma gave a warm smile before turning to walk back to her car. 

As she opened the door to get in, she saw that Regina had already gone inside and closed the door, but a glance at the window revealed Henry who gave her a thumbs-up and a wink before he turned and ran into the interior of the house.  She chuckled and shook her head climbing into her bug and buckling her seat belt.  As she pulled out and started toward home she felt her nervousness grow at the thought of what Henry would share with her tomorrow.  As much as she thought this plan was ridiculous, it seemed like her only hope to get Regina alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much love and appreciation for my beta-readers Lupwned and Hunnyfresh – both phenomenal writers and dear friends. Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed! You make me smile every time, I love you all! Please continue to read and review!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, its characters, settings, etc. I am also deriving no profit from this other than my own satisfaction.

As Henry set up the game board for Monopoly in the Living Room, Regina popped a bowl of popcorn for them to share.  She pondered the state of her relationship with her son, which had improved dramatically over the last six months.  As she had continued to hold to her promise to him not to use magic, they had developed a closer relationship and settled into a comfortable rhythm.  He was much more agreeable to spending time with her and cooperative when they had their days together.

Most surprisingly, she had found that settling into this shared custody situation with Emma had been easier than anticipated.  After months of scheming and battling for Henry’s sole attention, the two women had, at Emma’s urging, found an arrangement that suited both of them and gave Henry time to be with both his mothers.  Emma had even assumed more of a parental role, no longer requiring Regina to be purely the disciplinarian; they shared responsibility for ensuring that he completed his homework and minded his manners, which had allowed some of the fun to return to Regina’s relationship with Henry.

Tonight for example, seeing to it that Regina could have a game night with Henry was such a thoughtful gesture that the mayor wondered, not for the first time, when Emma had become so concerned about and aware of her routine.  Emma found little ways to promote a stronger relationship between Regina and Henry.  She felt gratitude for the support, not least of which because she would never have anticipated that the blonde was capable of such thoughtfulness.

“Mom, it’s all set up, are you coming?”

“Yes, sweetheart, I’m just getting snacks, I’ll be right there.” 

Regina shook herself out of her musings, grabbed the bowl of air-popped popcorn and glasses of cider for each of them before going into the Living Room.  Henry beamed at her as she entered and her heart fluttered happily in her chest.

“So did you have a good dinner tonight?”

“Yep.  We had pot roast.  And Grandma and Grandpa found out that they’re having a boy!”

Regina had experienced a pang when she had first learned that Snow was pregnant.  Although they had come a long way toward repairing the hatred between them, she found that it still stung to see Snow’s every happiness granted her.  Regina had longed to have a child all her life and being unable to have one, she felt resentful that in this way, too, Snow had managed a happiness she herself would never have.  Still, as her relationship with Henry had grown stronger, she had set aside these feelings and replaced them with gratitude for her son. 

“That’s wonderful news!  So have you chosen your game piece?” she asked as she picked up her own preferred top hat token.

“Of course, I’m going to be the dog.  You know how much I love dogs.”

This was Henry’s newest fascination.  He was constantly asking Regina for a dog each time they were together.  He felt it would be the perfect addition to their family.  Regina had begun to consider the matter seriously, but she would not let on to Henry that she would give in just yet.

“I do,” she replied simply.  “Well, why don’t you roll to see who will go first.”

Henry waited until they had already rounded the board several times collecting properties and diminishing their banks before deciding to commence phase two.

“So I heard that everyone’s talking about the bachelorette auction.  It seems like it’s going to be a really big deal.”

“Yes, I imagine in this town it will get a great deal of attention.”

“Well, who do you suppose is going to participate?”

Regina had not given it a lot of thought, other than deciding that she herself would have to participate.  She thought briefly through the roster of single women in Storybrooke before replying.

“Kathryn indicated that she intends to sign up.  I imagine that Miss Lucas and of course Belle will participate.  Beyond that, I’m not sure.  Miss Swan might, I imagine.”

“Yeah, she definitely is.  I wonder who’s going to bid, though.  I mean, is everybody going?”

“Most of the town is, yes.  I have no idea who will bid, but I imagine that since many of those women are attached though not married, their respective partners will bid.”

“Who do you think will bid on you, then?”

Regina paused here.  She had not considered the matter in depth.  She knew that she was one of the more attractive women in town and that people had seen her genuine attempts at redemption.  Still, she felt a moment of insecurity that perhaps her previous misdeeds against the town would result in a lack of popularity in the auction.

“I’m…I’m not sure, Henry.  I guess I hadn’t thought about it.”

Henry could see the uneasiness and doubt creep into her expression and hurried to reassure her.  “Well, I bet it will be lots of people.  After all, you’re the mayor and you’re beautiful.”

Regina felt her eyes mist as she looked at her son and choked “Thank you, Henry.”  She wondered that she was able to raise such a considerate, insightful young man despite her own upbringing.  She cleared her throat as she looked at the clock on the mantle and said “It’s getting late, we’d better get the game cleared away so that you can take your bath and get to bed.”

He immediately complied, beginning gathering the pieces and storing them neatly as she picked up the popcorn bowl and glasses and went to the kitchen to wash them.  One thing was certain as she allowed her thoughts to drift back to the auction.  Henry had raised her awareness that she must begin to give this matter some consideration and the first step would be to ensure that she had a show-stopping dress to wear.  

She found herself wondering about her son’s other mother.  He had said that she was participating.  Although Regina was not surprised that Emma would support the town effort, she could only imagine how little this sort of activity would appeal to the more worldly Miss Swan.  She was not the type to enjoy donning fancy dresses and participating in a gala.  She chuckled a bit in amusement at the thought that her own eye-rolling dislike for such foolishness was likely eclipsed by the loathing the sheriff would feel toward the activity.

She glanced up, realizing that as she had been lost in thought, she had left the water running for several minutes despite the dishes sitting in the drying rack.  She turned off the water shaking her head and went up to check on Henry.

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“So she said she doesn’t know who’s going to bid on her?”

“Yep.  She actually looked really worried about it.  I think she doesn’t know whether anyone will bid because of the whole Evil Queen thing.”

“Well, that’s silly.  It’s all in the past and everyone knows that.”

“I know.  So what’s the next phase?”

“I’m not sure exactly.  After I drop you off tonight, I’m heading over to Mary Margaret’s to work on my dress with her.  I think other than that, there’s nothing really to do but wait.  Well, and I need to actually go sign up at the library for the auction.  I need to write up a statement for them to read about me.”

“Easy!  We can do that right now.”

Emma and Henry had been walking through town enjoying an after school cocoa together, but at these words, Henry took her hand and pulled her off toward the library.  When they arrived, Belle and Ruby were talking quietly over the desk, hand in hand.  Emma smiled at the sight before clearing her throat.  The two women blushed as they turned to see mother and son approaching.

“Hello Emma!  Hello Henry!  What can we do for you today?”

“Emma wants to sign up for the bachelorette auction.”

Ruby gave a wide grin as she looked at Emma’s reddening cheeks and teased “Yeah, I know that Snow and Charming have high hopes.  They want you to make a love connection.”

“Well, uh…I don’t know about all that.  Just thought I should support the town.  You know, as the sheriff and all.”

“That’s wonderful, Emma,” said Belle.  “We appreciate the support and certainly would expect you to be very popular at the auction.”

Ruby’s head turned quickly toward the librarian at this, eyes narrowed.  “Oh yeah?”

Belle reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly “Well, of course, silly.  She is a public figure and she is unattached.  You will get bids, too, but everyone knows you’re…involved.”

Ruby looked placated at that, but she still pretended to pout a bit.

Belle rolled her eyes saying, “You know you’ll get my bid, Rubes.”  Ruby’s grin returned full force at this as Emma simply shook her head at the couple.

“So is there anything else I need to do?”

“Do you have a description you’d like us to read about you?”

“I dunno…I’m not really good at that kind of thing.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this covered,” said Ruby, her grin taking on a decidedly mischievous gleam now.

“Great!  Just don’t embarrass me too much, ok Ruby?  I still have to be seen as an authority figure after this.”

“Hey!  You just leave this to me.  I will have you the hottest ticket in town before we’re done.”

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Emma kicked her boot against the bottom of the door to announce her presence, her arms full of clothes when she arrived at her mother’s home.  Snow opened the door with a broad smile and relieved Emma of her burdens. 

“I’ve reheated the pot roast already.  Why don’t we have dinner first and then talk about the dress after.”

“Perfect, I’m starving.”

Snow chuckled at the predictability of that statement before setting down Emma’s dresses on the couch ushering her over to the table, set for two.

“Is it just us tonight?”

“Yes, your father is having a poker night with Thomas tonight, so I thought maybe we could just have some mother-daughter time.”  In truth, Snow had requested the evening alone with Emma to discuss her suspicion as to the object of her daughter’s affection.   She was sure that Charming would not be ready to discuss that matter now.  He had been only too happy to avoid an evening discussing dress design.

“Great.  So how are you feeling?  I remember with Henry by three months the morning sickness was getting better but I felt exhausted.”

“I feel wonderful.  I am a bit tired, but nothing extreme.”

Emma merely nodded as she had already begun to wolf down her dinner.

“Actually, Emma, there was something I wanted to discuss with you without your father or Henry around.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I know that your father is hoping that you’re going to fall in love with a prince and even thinks that this auction may be an opportunity for that connection to happen.”

“Oh, um…”

“I just had a feeling that maybe that might not be what you were hoping for in getting involved in this.  It seemed to me that perhaps you might already have feelings for someone.”

Emma’s ears had become the color of the wine in her glass and she was looking steadily into her plate as she mumbled “I guess maybe I sort-of do.”

Snow took pity on her daughter, who looked absolutely miserable and said, “She really has changed.”

Emma’s head shot up at this, her eyes wide.  How had her mother known?  She met her mother’s watery eyes with her jaw hanging open, unable to speak.

“I don’t think your father is quite ready for this, but I understand better than anyone how charismatic Regina is.  I just want you to be happy, sweetheart.  And despite what she might think, I want her to be happy, too.”

“So you don’t mind that she’s…well…”

“Older than you?  An Evil Queen from another realm?”

“Well, I was going to say a woman, but…”

Snow just laughed, “Honestly, out of the list of all of the concerns, I think the fact that she’s a woman is the least troubling one.  Sweetheart, think about who my best friend is.  The whole idea of same-sex relationships being wrong is definitely a concept of this realm, and not the Enchanted Forest.”

“Ok, fine.  Well, what about the other stuff?”

Snow sighed, “I won’t say that when I started to notice your feelings I was not a little uncomfortable with our past.  And I won’t pretend that I don’t still have concerns.  Emma, I loved her a long time and she hurt me.  We can’t be sure of her feelings, nor can we be guaranteed that she would not hurt you.  But in the time that I’ve gotten to know you, I’ve learned enough to know that you are the kind of person who would rather charge in headfirst and damn the consequences.  And I feel reassured to know that if she breaks your heart, your father still has his sword handy.”

This last she said with a wry grin, which allowed the tension of the conversation to break.  Emma stood and went to hug her mother, finally feeling that she had the support of her family in the tangible way she had always longed for as a child.  She mostly held back the tears that flooded her eyes at the thought.

“Now let’s finish dinner so we can get going on a dress to knock her socks off.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A HUGE thank you to my beta-readers Lupwned and Hunnyfresh – you ladies are the best! THANK YOU to everyone who has read and reviewed! I had so much fun with this story and I hope you are having fun too! Please continue to read and review!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, its characters, settings, etc. I am also deriving no profit from this other than my own satisfaction.

The morning of the gala, Emma woke at 4am.  She groaned as she realized that the sun was not yet up but still pulled herself from bed, her stomach churning as she contemplated the events to occur.  She had spent the last few weeks saving her money studiously, feeding Henry casseroles and eating with her parents whenever possible.  She had a tidy sum prepared, but still she worried it would not be enough.  Despite having met with her mother several times to be measured and discuss design for her dress, she had not yet seen it.  Everything combined had kept her up until after 1am, her mind racing with all the ways her careful planning could go wrong. 

She pulled on sweatpants and a hoodie over her customary boy shorts and tank top she wore to bed.  Yawning, she went into the kitchen to make coffee and attempt to give her mind an occupation other than racing over the events to come.  As the coffeepot finished brewing, she was surprised to hear a sleepy “Good Morning” from her son as he entered the kitchen yawning. 

“Morning, Henry. You’re up early.”

“Just excited I guess.  It’s the big day!”

Emma just groaned as she looked in the fridge to see what she could make them for Breakfast.

“So how do you feel about leftover tuna casserole?”

Henry’s face wrinkled in disgust, “For Breakfast? Um…how about I buy us some pancakes at Granny’s with my lawn mowing money, since you won’t let me help you tonight.”

“No Henry, I’m the parent here, I’m supposed to be the one to take care of you.  You’re right though, I think it’s time to loosen the purse strings a little.  I’m hungry.  And I’ll never make it through this day if I don’t eat something.”

Emma and Henry had been avoiding the diner other than picking up the occasional hot chocolate and leaving generous tips for Ruby.  Henry trudged back to his room to get dressed as Emma did the same.  She pulled on her traditional jeans and red leather jacket before sitting down on her bed to wrestle her feet into her boots.  As she did so, she wondered again whether all of this was in vain.  Even if she was able to secure a day with Regina through the auction, who could say whether that would actually lead to anything?  Emma had no reason, other than Henry’s childlike faith, that Regina felt anything but disdain for her.

Standing resolutely, Emma determined that although she could not be assured of the outcome she sought, the time had come to at least pursue Regina.  She could no longer sit and wonder what would happen.  Her mother was right; she may get hurt, but consequences be damned - she was going to give it her best shot.

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Regina’s morning started later and at a much more leisurely pace.  She had no distinct worry about this evening.  She pursed her lips as she thought about the utter inanity of such a foolish spectacle.  Still, she had an image to portray before her town and she had every intention of fulfilling their expectations.  She had spent the last few weeks working with the planning committee to ensure that the gala would be fitting of the level of sophistication and elegance she expected.

In this, at least, she felt a small amount of pleasure.  It was sure to be an evening to rival any other fundraiser despite being in such a small town.  The town hall had been decorated for the evening, the grand ballroom filled with pristine white tablecloths on tables covered in crystal that would shimmer in the candlelight later that night.  The flowers were being delivered in the afternoon, the food prepared in Granny’s kitchen and then transported to the hall.  Each detail had been attended to painstakingly until she was certain that whatever other foolishness occurred this evening, it would be beautiful.

She felt supremely confident that her gown would be as regal and enticing as any of the outfits she had donned as the Evil Queen in another life.  Although she no longer wished to command the fear of her subjects, she felt the need to ensure that her presence was noted.  She had no doubt that the gown she had purchased and tweaked to her own exacting specifications would turn heads.

Once more, she found herself idly considering whether Miss Swan would be forced to wear a gown.  She was certain that the sheriff may have worn a dress or two under the right circumstances, would be less than thrilled with her mother’s idea of how a lady should dress for this sort of occasion.  A wry grin crossed her face at the thought and she found herself humming as she cleaned up her Breakfast dishes, imagining that perhaps simply watching the blonde’s discomfort would make this evening amusing if not enjoyable.

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David knocked on Emma and Henry’s apartment door in the early afternoon.  He and Henry were planning to get ready together, each wearing a tuxedo rented from Emperor’s Menswear.   The idea was to allow Emma and Snow to prepare for the evening together and then Henry and David would come to escort their “dates” to the gala.

“Hey, Emma!  Your mom is dying to show you your dress, you’d better not wait too long.”

“About that…have you seen it?  Is it princess-y?  Will I hate it?”

“She’s kept it under wraps, I have no idea, honestly.  She said you had to see it first.  But we’re going to have to get there early.”

“Why?”

“Gold’s been trying to make progress with Belle for weeks, but she hasn’t given him the time of day.  I guess he’s decided he wants to be eligible to bid after all.  He’s asked me to step in as auctioneer.”

“Wow.  Well, ok then.  I’m glad I’ve been tipping Ruby well, she can’t be thrilled at this turn of events.”

“You’d better go and let your mother fuss over you.  We’ll need some time to get ourselves handsome and then we’ll pick you ladies up later.”

“Ok, thanks.  Henry!  I’ll see you later, kid.”

Henry didn’t even look up from his video game as he muttered, “See ya.”

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“Oh Emma!  You look so beautiful” a teary-eyed Snow took in her daughter several hours later. 

Snow had made Emma a flowing sage green gown with a flare at the ankles making her appear to float across the floor.  The bodice was a deep green corset accentuating her slim waist and displaying an enticing amount of cleavage.  Her make-up was light, appearing to be more of a natural glow than a cosmetic success.  Her hair was piled on top of her head with curled tendrils cascading around her face.  She looked lit up from the inside, supremely confident.  She felt surprisingly comfortable in her gown, but she could hardly recognize herself.

“You look amazing, too.”

Snow was wearing a more conservative deep royal blue dress.  It had an empire waist that hid her pregnant belly and made her look appropriately elegant.  She wore little make-up but her beaming smile lit her face as she took in her work.  Emma looked ethereal and pure, an expression of the love between her and Charming more than ever.  She was certain that if Regina had any inkling of good left in her, she would find Emma irresistibly attractive.

A knock on the door heralded their escorts.  Snow practically skipped to the door with an excited giggle.  She opened the door and saw her prince, resplendent in a black tuxedo with a bow tie and waistcoat matching the color of her gown.  He beamed at her as he took a step back to admire her from head to toe before sighing appreciatively and saying “Wow!”

Snow giggled again saying “That’s my prince – so eloquent” before grasping the back of his neck and pulling him in for a kiss that stole her breath.

Henry made his presence known before the scene could get too heated saying “Um, guys…grandson over here.  Pretty grossed out.”

Snow and Charming both laughed as they turned to look at Henry.  “My goodness, Charming.  Do we have the most handsome grandson in the land, or what?”

“He takes after his grandmother.”

“Where’s my mom?”

“I’m here.”  Emma called from inside the apartment.  All three of her family members pushed in through the door at that moment, taking in the sight of her nervously clutching her hands in front of her, but still looking radiant.

Henry’s jaw dropped and he simply said “Whoa!”

Charming’s eyes became suspiciously bright as he took in the sight of his little girl and he crossed the room in three steps before pressing a kiss to her cheek and murmuring “You look beautiful, Emma,” his voice raspy.

Emma felt simultaneously reassured by their reactions and slightly uncomfortable with the scrutiny.  She decided to break the tension. “Well, I guess we better go.  David…um Dad needs to get set up and stuff.”

Henry found his feet and walked over, offering his arm gallantly to escort his mother.  She took a deep breath before grasping his hand and walking toward the door.  Her parents followed behind, Charming’s hand on the small of Snow’s back as they shared a look of pride and joy in their family.

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The ballroom was magnificent.  Regina surveyed the progress the staff had made toward lighting candles and making other last minute touches with utter satisfaction.  She had spent the afternoon overseeing the workers.  In a few moments, she planned to leave to finish getting ready for the evening.  She had not wanted to wear her gown too early and spoil the effect she planned to have entering the room later, once the town had assembled.  As she checked the last item off of her clipboard and turned to leave, she spotted the Charming family entering through the doors.  Charming led Snow looking appropriately dashing as the radiant young couple practically floated through the door.

When they moved to the side to speak to Archie, however, her breath caught.  Her son was beaming at her resplendent in a miniature tuxedo.  The forest green of his bow tie and waistcoat matched his mother’s dress.  But it was his mother herself who caused her heart to stop momentarily.  Emma was magnificent.  She seemed to glow as she walked in on Henry’s arm, her pale skin catching the flickering candlelight and her golden hair a halo around her face.  Regina had of course noticed before that the sheriff was attractive, but she would never have expected to react like this.  Without her trademark leather jackets and skin-tight jeans, Emma was a knockout.  She smiled shyly at Regina and the mayor remembered to breathe.  She shook herself and strolled forward, returning her gaze to her son and giving him a warm smile.

“Henry, you look very handsome.  A true prince.”  She leaned down to kiss him on the crown of his head and smoothed his hair back from his face.

“Thanks, Mom!”

“Good evening, Miss Swan.”

“Evening, Madame Mayor.”

For a moment, no further conversation occurred, the two women simply stared at one another until Henry tugged at Regina’s hand and said “Mom.  Why aren’t you wearing a gown?”

“I just had to oversee some last minute arrangements.  I’m going to get ready right now, sweetheart.”  She found her eyes drawn back to the green eyes of his birth mother, giving a controlled smile before saying “I trust your father is prepared.  We all know he’s not the most gifted speaker.”

To Regina’s surprise, Emma laughed at this and said “Well, I expect that everyone will simply be relieved not to listen to Gold all night.  His creepy little giggle won’t exactly drive attendance.”

Regina’s lips tilted upward despite herself.  “True enough, Sheriff Swan.  If you’ll excuse me, I will go home to prepare myself.”

“Of course.  See ya later.”

Regina turned and walked out, turning just before she crossed the threshold to steal one last glance at the princess behind her. 

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The ballroom was filled with Storybrooke residents in their finest clothing, seated at tables scattered through the ballroom eating salads and creating a low din of conversation.  Suddenly, a hush fell over the crowd, beginning near the door and cascading outward.  Emma looked up from the front of the ballroom to see Regina standing in the door all the way in the back.

To those who had been present at Snow and Charming’s Fairytale Land Wedding, her late entrance and confident smirk recalled a far different time.  The dissociative rage, however, was missing, leaving in its place a stunning woman who commanded attention.  Her deep purple gown fit tight to her body except for a slight train at the back.  The neckline plunged low and it was nearly entirely backless. 

As she glided forward, brown eyes sought the green of the sheriff and when the connection was made, Emma audibly gasped, her mouth dry.  She reached forward and drained her wine glass, looking desperately at her plate to regain her equilibrium.  Regina seated herself at a nearby table, nodding to those seated with her and the conversations around them resumed.  Snow reached out her hand to touch Emma’s shoulder briefly in a silent sign of support with a hesitant smile.  Emma returned the smile nervously and reached for her clutch to check the time again.  Surely this auction would be getting underway soon.

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David had been doing a surprisingly, well, charming job of hosting the auction.  To nobody’s surprise, Ella and Aurora had attracted a few bids, but their fiancé and girlfriend, respectively, were the winners of those contests.  Granny had ignited quite the bidding war after promising to spend the day cooking for the lucky man who bid to take her home.  Marco, Archie, and several others put forward bids, but in the end, none of them could match the sum the dwarves had pooled together.  The six of them surrounded Granny as she left the stage shouting about it being unfair that she was forced to please six suitors. 

Leroy was not counted as he was saving his own money to bid on Nova.  Newly freed from the convent, Nova had refused to return to life under the strong hand of the Blue Fairy.  She, like Ruby and a few others, felt that this new life was a second chance at happiness.  The contest for Nova’s hand was half-hearted and Leroy easily won the day.

When Ruby came up for auction, there were several who participated in the bidding, but Belle glared them all down until her own bid won the contest.  Ruby’s smile was wide as she leapt from the stage and ran to the librarian, unable to restrain herself from dipping her low and kissing her in front of the entire crowd.  The wolf-whistles and cheers continued for several minutes, led by Granny.

And now came the moment that Emma had been waiting for.  As David began the introduction, she found her palms sweating and resisted the urge to rub them on her skirt.  Her heart began to pound as she listened.  Regina strolled confidently to the stage and stood smiling at the crowd the same smooth smile she employed for mayoral press conferences.  Emma forced herself to listen.

“Our next bachelorette is Mayor Regina Mills.  All of us know her as the woman responsible for creating and maintaining this very town.  Although we may have had some differences of position in the past,” the crowd chuckled at the understatement, “She proved herself a loyal citizen and ally at the battle of Storybrooke Wharf where she risked her own life to defeat her mother.  You may believe that she’s put a spell on you, but I’m assured that’s just her natural charm.  Let’s get our first bid for…Regina.”

This was it.  A month’s worth of preparation and yet Emma found her voice was stolen in this critical moment.  All she had to do was call a number but she simply couldn’t choke it out.  It seemed like an eternity passed as Snow stared at her, eyes widening before Henry passed a hand in front of her face and she looked up.  Too late.

“One hundred dollars.”

The voice came from a table toward the back.  Jefferson stood at his table, his eyes gleaming with malice, a smile pulling at his face. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the cliffhanger was frustrating, but I hope you’ll find it worth it after you read the newest chapter. If you guys don’t know, my beta-readers Lupwned and Hunnyfresh are both amazing! THANK YOU to everyone who has read and reviewed! 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, its characters, settings, etc. I am also deriving no profit from this other than my own satisfaction.

_"One hundred dollars."_

_The voice came from a table toward the back. Jefferson stood at his table, his eyes gleaming with malice, a smile twisting his face._

For the briefest moment, Regina’s mask slipped as a trickle of fear shivered down her spine.  Whatever Jefferson’s intentions in bidding, he certainly wasn’t hoping for companionship or a home-cooked meal.  She forced herself to resume her usual politician’s smile as she cast her eyes over the crowd, silently begging for someone – anyone else to bid.  And then someone did.

Finally springing into action, Emma called out “One hundred and fifty,” with confidence.  Regina turned to face the sheriff, flooding with gratitude; she felt unsure why the younger woman would assist her, but was unwilling to contemplate it too deeply considering the alternative.

“Two hundred.”

Evidently Jefferson had no intention of easily giving up the fight.

Emma’s jaw tightened as she calmly stated “Three.”

The eyes of the crowd alternated between Jefferson and Emma as they continued to bid, he raised the stakes to four hundred, she to five.

Jefferson’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he surveyed the young princess and barked “Seven fifty.”

The ballroom was silent.  It seemed that as one, the citizens of Storybrooke had decided to hold their breath in anxiety over the increasingly large sum on offer.  To this point, the highest bid for any bachelorette had been five hundred dollars.

Emma was sweating, her heart hammering in her chest.  She was coming close to the limit of her budget and she could not allow Jefferson to win.  Not after everything she’d gone through to get to this point.  Her father was staring at her, willing her to bid as he began to rattle… “Going…going…”

Emma stood at her seat, stared directly into Regina’s eyes and said “One thousand dollars.”

A collective gasp rose from the crowd at the shout.  Regina’s eyes widened as she took in the determined look on the sheriff’s face, her hands balled into fists.  She could not understand how the young woman would possibly have that amount of money.  And she knew, thanks to her own curse, that Jefferson had nearly limitless funds with which to bid. 

Henry meanwhile, had decided to take action.  He leapt from his seat and ran to Jefferson’s table, disappearing behind the madman.  He whispered frantically in Grace, his friend and classmate’s ear.  She nodded and tugged on her father’s sleeve just as he shouted “Twelve fifty.”

“Daddy!”

“Not now, Grace.  Daddy’s busy.”

“No, Daddy, it has to be now.  You have to stop.  You have to let her go.”

Jefferson’s jaw tightened as he looked down for the first time at his daughter. “Grace, you don’t understand.  You don’t know what that woman did.”

“I do, Daddy, but it doesn’t matter anymore.  We’re together.  And if it weren’t for Sheriff Swan, we wouldn’t be.  She gave us our happy ending, Daddy, please.  Can’t you let her win?”

Jefferson continued to clench his jaw as he looked away from his daughter, cracked his neck, and then looked back into her hopeful face.

“Fine.”

Across the room, Charming had again begun, albeit slowly to call out “Going, going…” when Emma, her face flushed but her expression unflinching called out “Fifteen hundred dollars.”  She turned her gaze immediately with a challenging glare at Jefferson, who simply shook his head and sat down, withdrawing himself from the bidding.

Charming looked down and felt that he had better end the bidding now before his daughter was out of house and home.  He quickly called “Goinggoinggone” without pausing for breath and banged the gavel down on the podium.

The previously still and silent crowd erupted in cheers and applause.  They leapt to their feet and began hugging one another.  Although few of them cared for the queen, they all adored the savior and were loath to see her lose. 

Emma’s face lit up as though her whole body were infused with fairy dust as she turned to face Regina, who had by this point completely lost her politician’s mask and was staring in awe.  Emma strode forward to the stage and extended her hand, her eyes dancing as she took in her prize.  Regina could hardly catch her breath as she took the offered hand and stepped down from the platform.  Emma escorted her back to her seat and pulled out her chair before giving a little curtsey and a “Milady” indicating that Regina should sit.

Regina found she was completely speechless as she resumed her seat and watched the young woman strut back to her table, obviously tremendously pleased with herself.  Emma even stopped before sitting to raise her hands together like a prize-fighter toward the crowd, who laughed and clapped all the harder for it.

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Regina spent an additional five minutes at her table completely shell-shocked before she remembered herself, offering a brief smile to her table companions before reaching desperately for her wine and downing the remainder of the glass before holding up the empty goblet to a passing waiter to be refilled.  As the wine began to spread warmth through her numb body, she felt herself relax slightly, and then panic.

Dear gods.

What in the world had that been about?  Simply the savior fulfilling her duties as the “White Knight” once again, stepping in to defeat Jefferson and his nefarious plot?  But even that explanation made no sense to her.  Since when did the savior defend the Evil Queen?

“Since Emma Swan became the Savior”, whispered a voice in the back of her mind.

There was some fairness to the thought.  True, they had often tangled over Henry and their interactions more often involved veiled threats than polite conversation, but in every situation when Emma could have abandoned her to her fate without even having to raise a hand to vanquish her, she had instead extended her hand in rescue.  With this thought, Regina looked to her own hand clutching her wine glass where the Savior’s fingers had clasped around her own only moments ago.  She imagined she could still feel their sturdy warmth.

Still, she simply could not accept that there was no ulterior motive here.  Perhaps Miss Swan had the intention of purchasing a day with her in the auction only to demand to take Henry away and spend the day with her instead.  Or perhaps she intended to inflict some dark and painful punishment – like a day of baking with that twit Snow White.  She chanced a glance at the Charmings’ table and saw that Emma and Snow had their heads together, their expressions gleeful as they giggled together.

As her lip curled at the thought of what plans they could be making, she took another healthy gulp of wine.  The thought that followed was sudden and most unwelcome; as loathsome as those outcomes would be, they were far less terrifying than the alternative.

She allowed herself to sneak another glance at Emma.  She looked absolutely giddy now that she’d won.  She was whispering with Snow and nodding vigorously when she seemed to feel Regina’s eyes on her and she looked up, her eyes colliding with Regina’s with a stormy intensity. 

Regina shivered and quickly looked away.  Draining her glass, she held it out to be refilled before closing her eyes and trying to gather her poise.

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Emma was elated.  She felt on cloud nine now that she had won.  After all the planning and saving and…she actually did it.  She got a day alone with Regina Mills.  She had exhausted basically her entire savings and she was going to have to get creative about this date, but she had actually done it.

Abigail went up to be auctioned off and was purchased by an ecstatic gym teacher who picked her up and spun her around when she ran off the stage to him.  Emma vaguely heard the whoops and applause around her as she locked eyes with Regina and time seemed to slow.  She felt like she was living in a movie, this could not possibly be real.  As Abigail returned to Regina’s table, the mayor broke eye contact with Emma to toast her friend and flash a toothy smile. 

Emma turned as her father called Belle forward to the stage.  This was the penultimate auction of the evening, hers being the only one remaining.  Belle’s auction was one that had garnered much of the discussion throughout the town.  It was common knowledge that Ruby and Belle were an item and that Mr. Gold harbored an almost obsessive love for the young librarian.  The only person whose redemption was questioned more than Regina’s was Rumplestiltskin’s.  Although everyone preferred the idea of Belle with Ruby, they feared that if his wishes were denied, Gold would resort to using his previous dark means to achieve his goal.

The tension mounted steadily as Belle ascended the stage and turned to face the crowd.  She looked around, worrying her hands as she shifted on the stage, clearly uncomfortable with the scrutiny.  Charming’s introduction was heard by all and remembered by none as they watched Ruby preemptively stand in her seat, checkbook in her hand, determined to outbid the richest man in town.

When the bidding opened, Ruby shouted “Two hundred dollars” at the top of her lungs, determined to start things off boldly.  Mr. Gold emerged from the back of the room, taking shuffling steps forward, his tuxedo, shirt, and tie all black.  He strolled with confidence, knowing with certainty that his wealth outmatched any other in the room.

Without raising his voice in the slightest, every ear in the room still heard his murmured “Five hundred.”  Clearly, he knew exactly what he wanted and saw no point in continuing the bidding.

Ruby flushed and raised her checkbook again, nearly jumping up to stretch her arm in the air and bellow “Six hundred.”

Gold merely chuckled for a moment, taking several more steps forward and grinning maniacally at Ruby.  “Why Miss Lucas, we can do this all day.  After all, it will benefit the whole town to improve our library.”  He flicked a hand dismissively toward Charming and continued, “Eight hundred.”

Ruby’s face was rapidly becoming appropriately colored for her name as she huffed and puffed, frantically jumping around in her seat.  She looked desperately at the balance sheet in her checkbook and called “Eight hundred and sixty three dollars and seven cents.”

Clearly Ruby was literally bidding her last penny as she closed her eyes, crossed her fingers and hunched her shoulders together, hoping for the best.

Gold looked scathingly at the girl before giggling maniacally and saying in a sing-song voice reminiscent of a previous life “Eight hundred and sixty three dollars and eight cents.”  He giggled again as he watched the young waitress crumple into her chair, defeated.  Her eyes filled with tears and she buried her head in her hands.

Clearly sickened by the turn of events, Charming looked desperately around the room for another bidder before slowly reciting “Going…going…gone,” in a diminishing voice.  “Sold to Mr. Gold.”

Belle looked heartsick as she descended the stairs and walked toward Gold, his hand outstretched.  She took his hand in hers with a polite smile before turning her gaze to face miserably the young brunette sobbing into her napkin.  Gold quickly pulled her away to the back of the room and they disappeared from view.

Emma watched her mother rise up, shaking her head and walking over to comfort her inconsolable friend.  She rubbed a hand across Ruby’s back and murmured in her ear as hushed conversations erupted all over the ballroom.

“Well, uh, we still have one more bachelorette to auction off this evening.  I’m proud to say that our final bachelorette this evening swept into town and into all of our lives and changed everything.  She has proven to be a loving mother, a loyal friend, and a true hero.  She restored our memories by breaking a curse with the strength of her true love.  She helped protect our town from foes as the Sheriff and later as our Savior.  She is, and I believe myself completely unbiased in this, the most wonderful, beautiful girl in the world,” the crowd chuckled indulgently while Emma rolled her eyes, though she felt a little tug at the corner of her lips hearing her father’s declaration, “My daughter, Emma Swan!”

Emma rose and climbed the steps to the stage, for the first time truly considering how humiliating this whole ordeal was.  She had neglected to consider walking up stairs when she chose her shoes, which emphasized fashion over practicality and caused her to trip on her way up the stairs, reaching out and clutching Charming’s hand to regain her balance.  Her face instantly flushed in embarrassment and she took a moment to close her eyes and calm her breathing before she turned to face the audience and immediately became dizzy.  The only other time she had stood in front of a crowd like this was when she debated Sydney in her campaign to become sheriff, and she had felt every bit the shaky mess she did now. 

It occurred to her suddenly how humiliating it would be if she stood up here and not a single person bid on her.  She imagined herself standing an eternity before the crowd as they continued staring at her and her father spoke into the microphone, “Anyone?  Will anyone give me a dollar? No?”  She felt the blood drain from her face and swayed a little before shaking her head and pulling herself back to the room.  She had fought dragons and zombies and Regina’s evil mother.  Certainly she could withstand this too.  Straightening her shoulders she did her best attempt at a beauty-queen smile, which would have succeeded had her eyes not clearly still registered terror.

The bidding was quick to build, a number of men from the town showing interest in spending a day with the sheriff.  The bids reached one thousand…fifteen hundred.

Emma stopped worrying about nobody bidding on her, obviously that was not her problem.  Now she began to worry about the intentions of the person who would end up buying a day with her.  She squinted around the room trying to see if she recognized any of the people bidding as a fresh wave of panic pulsed through her. 

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Regina watched the sheriff being auctioned off feeling utterly perplexed.  Clearly the sheriff would rather have eaten chimera for a year than stand on that stage under the eyes of the town.  She was turning vaguely green now as she scrunched her face trying to see into the crowd despite the bright spotlight upon her.  She looked utterly foolish and Regina had been waiting for just this moment to feel triumph in her rival’s discomfort. 

Instead, as she looked around at the town she felt a wave of sympathy for Emma that shocked her.  Here was a woman who had learned that to survive meant staying detached, remote; it meant keeping her distance.  Yet she was being paraded forward in front of a mass of people who already placed all of their hopes, dreams, and expectations on her.  She had gone from being a denizen of the world – indulging her deep sense of wanderlust – to being the highlight of a small town bachelorette auction.  Despite the good grace with which Emma had assumed the mantle of Savior, clearly this was a step beyond comfortable for her.

She remembered her own experience; as a young woman forced into a life she was not prepared for and which she had never desired.  She understood all too well that fairytales made the life of a princess seem a dream when in reality it often meant bending to the will of the men in the stories, subsuming her own creativity and intelligence.

She too had hated being the spectacle in a room full of people.  She had learned to embrace the darkness within herself because it was the only part that felt like it belonged to her.  Her body, her reputation, her smile, her curtsey, her whole regal act belonged to others.  She provided the image of the perfect wife, mother, and regent.  Her excursions to practice dark magic, to expand her power, empowered her.  She surrendered herself to darkness because it was her way to keep something of her own, something secret and hidden.

Regina felt her chest grow heavy as she thought about the trapped feeling she had when she married Snow’s father.  She looked around at the men leering at Emma and felt revulsion rise up in her at the thought that they would do to the young woman what Leopold had done to her.  She stood, suddenly realizing that she had perhaps consumed more wine than was prudent as she swayed slightly when she took to her feet.  Abigail looked to her in concern, which she quickly waved off, raising her eyes to the stage and seeing Emma’s weak attempt at a smile that was betrayed by her shaking hands.

The bids had reached twenty-five hundred dollars now, but they were starting to slow, only two men left in the bidding now and both of them hesitating longer and longer.  Regina looked up at the stage again and caught the eye of the sheriff; the woman who had saved her from the fire, from the wraith, from Jefferson. 

The woman who had initiated more contact with her son and who had helped him to build a closer relationship with his adoptive mother. 

The woman whose eyes were now clamped onto hers with such intensity, such fear, and such hope.  She found herself unable to break eye contact even as she raised her hand and called,

“Five thousand dollars.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks as usual to my uber-betas hunnyfresh and lupwned. And thank you to everyone who has left reviews and kudos! You guys make my day every time! 
> 
> Disclaimer: Of course, I own nothing, I just like to play.

_Regina looked up at the stage again and caught the eye of the sheriff; the woman who had saved her from the fire, from the wraith, from Jefferson._

_The woman who had initiated more contact with her son and who had helped him to build a closer relationship with his adoptive mother._

_The woman whose eyes were now clamped onto hers with such intensity, such fear, and such hope.  She found herself unable to break eye contact even as she raised her hand and called,_

_“Five thousand dollars.”_

The room as one gave a collective gasp.  All eyes shifted from the sheriff onto the rapidly flushing mayor.  Charming’s jaw, like many in the room, had dropped nearly to the podium in front of him.  A pin dropping would have sounded like an explosion in the room.  For several long minutes, nobody moved. 

More shocked than anyone, Emma stared at Regina, her eyes wide.  She watched as Regina, although clearly uncomfortable, resolutely continued to stand, hand held high.  Neither of them broke eye contact as they contemplated what had occurred.  Recovering first, Emma turned to her father at the podium and cleared her throat.  He shook his head as if casting off the fog in his brain before clearing his throat and saying, “Going…going…gone.”

For another twenty seconds, nobody made a sound.  Then Archie began to slowly bring his hands together and others caught on moments later, joining in a tentative round of applause that grew into a raucous standing ovation.  Emma had returned her gaze to Regina’s and stood transfixed as the brunette lowered her arm.  As they continued to stare at one another, Emma made her way down the stairs, turning away only long enough to sit when she reached her table.  Others began to resume their seats at this, but Regina remained standing for several moments longer, still completely stunned by her own impulsiveness.  She realized abruptly she was the only one left standing and sat down quickly.

Henry immediately leaned over to Emma and said “Operation Stallion was even better than I thought!  Five thousand dollars!  She must really like you!”

Emma said nothing, swallowing hard and continuing to stare in the direction of the mayor, now blocked from her view by Abigail, who was leaning in to talk to Regina.  Snow resumed her seat next to Emma and said, “Well, who would have thought?”

Emma just grunted without looking at her mother.

“A circumstance where both you and Regina are speechless.”

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The rest of the night passed in a blur of Charming’s closing comments thanking the town for attending and participating in the auction, people milling about discussing the evening’s events.  It seemed that the sheriff and the mayor were all anyone could talk about.  Both women studiously avoided one another as they said their goodbyes to the townspeople and excused themselves early.  Henry remained with Snow and Charming to comfort Ruby and socialize. 

As Regina walked home, she contemplated what in the world had happened.  She had been surprised when Emma had bid on her, but nobody had been more shocked than she that she had offered up a bid of five thousand dollars for the young blonde.  It’s not that the money was an issue, she had carefully invested the fortune she allotted herself with the casting of the curse.  No, it was the idea that she had acted without carefully considering the consequences.  She had impulsively lurched in to rescue someone for the first time since she had dashed after young Snow White on her horse.

Immediately, fear crept into her belly at the recollection of the deep betrayal that had resulted from that act.  Regina had believed for so many years the cliché that “no good deed goes unpunished”.  It was hard to believe that this choice would not come back to haunt her somehow. 

Especially because she was mystified as to why she felt such sentimentality as desiring to rescue the girl.  She had borne Snow genuine affection when she made that choice.  While she appreciated the change in her relationship with Miss Swan, she certainly could not bear her affection.  It must have been the wine and too many bad memories.  That was the only way to account for her unprecedented concern for his son’s birth mother.

There was no mystery to what the consequence for this choice would be.  Not only would she be forced to spend a day with Emma over which she would have no control, she would be forced to plan something for an entirely separate day that they would spend together.  There was no telling what Emma would plan, but she refused to allow the younger woman to gain the advantage.  She would have to insist upon having the first of the two days to plan.  The blonde had proven already that she was able to catch Regina off her guard and she could not allow that to happen again.  In order to regain the upper hand she would demand to have the first of their two…appointments.

Feeling her confidence returning, she considered her next steps.  First priority was a long bath.  She was tired and cold and wanted nothing more than a long soak.  She reached the front door and put the key in the lock before stepping out of her shoes with a sigh and picking them up to take upstairs.  As she ascended the stairs, she felt a smirk land on her lips.  She may have been caught unaware tonight, but surely it would not happen again.  She was the Evil Queen.  She oozed poise and confidence.  She was the ruler of all she surveyed.  She would not be made to look a fool by a girl in a pleather jacket and a jalopy.  This time, everything was coming up Regina.

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Emma walked into the mayor’s office with a purposeful swagger to her stride.  She had come to claim her prize and she would not be deterred.  Ignoring the stuttering of Regina’s assistant, she strode into the inner office and stalked straight up to her desk.  Leaning over, she gave a sultry smile and purred “I’m here to collect my winnings, Madame Mayor.”

Regina put down her pen and slowly lifted her gaze until she met the sheriff’s eye.  She licked her lips and cast her eyes over the form of the young blonde.  Standing, she strode around her desk.  Emma’s pulse was beating in her throat so loudly she was convinced that Regina could hear it.  Perhaps she could - dark eyes drifted across the skin exposed by Emma’s open jacket.  Regina reached out and roughly pushed the sheriff back against the desk, pinning her hands down and licking her lips again. 

“Wha-what are you doing?”

Plump lips brushed against Emma’s ear as a silky voice whispered “I’m giving you what you want…” then teeth grazed over her earlobe and Emma’s eyes fluttered shut, moaning.

“Regina.”

No further words were spoken as Emma’s lips were captured by deep red ones and her breath was stolen by a kiss that seemed to electrify her body.  As hands reached greedily under her shirt and up to her bra, she felt like her skin was on fire.  She arched her back into the touch, letting her head fall back and moaning as she was rewarded with a tongue skating down the column of her neck.  One hand in her shirt drifted downward, approaching her belt buckle.

“Mom?”

Mom?  Why would Regina be calling her mom?  She frowned in confusion but resolved to push the thought away as teeth sunk into her pulse point, eliciting another moan.  She shivered delightedly.

“Mom!  Wake up!”

Regina took her hands off her body and began to shake her shoulders.  She groaned, confused at the change of pace.

“Wake up, Mom, it’s just a bad dream.”

Emma’s eyes flew open.  Henry’s face was inches away from hers, looking concerned. 

“Are you ok?  You were moaning like you were having a bad dream.”

Blushing furiously, Emma stammered “Uh…yeah kid, terrible.  Thanks for…waking me up.”

“You’re welcome!  I brought you some water.  My mom always brought me a glass of water when I had a bad dream.”

“Thanks kid,” she yawned, taking an obliging sip from the glass he extended toward her.

“So now that you’re awake, we need to figure out our plan for Operation Stallion: Phase Four.”

“Wait, phase four?  I thought we were just on phase two.”

“No!  Phase Two was gathering intel.  Phase Three was the actual auction.  Now we’re on to stage four,” he explained this slowly, as though he was talking to a child.

“Gotcha.  So what is the plan for phase four?”  She sat up against her headboard as he began to pace restlessly, as though his body had to match the speed of his thoughts.

“Date planning, of course.  We know that she likes fancy stuff.  She likes old music and fancy food and she doesn’t like anything unhealthy or loud.”

“So Granny’s is out.  I need to really wow her.  It has to be perfect.”

“I wonder what she’s going to plan for you.”

Emma groaned and lay back down, pulling a pillow over her face. 

Henry patted her knee clumsily and said, “Don’t worry!  We’re going to plan the whole thing and it will be perfect.  We should ask Grandma.  She knows all about true love.”

“True love?  Slow down, kid.  We’re talking about maybe dinner.”

Henry rolled his eyes, “Yeah, but someone who knows all about true love will be able to plan a stupid date.  Come on, get up!  I’m gonna call Grandma and Grandpa and have them meet us at Granny’s.”

Before she could protest that she had no money to eat at the diner he was out of the room and on the phone.  Emma pulled herself out of bed and pulled on her jeans and a chocolate brown sweater.  She sighed and walked out into the living room where Henry was already pulling on his shoes.  Looking up he said “They said they’d meet us in fifteen minutes and buy us Breakfast.”

Emma grabbed her jacket from the coatrack by the door and said, “You win, kid, let’s go.”

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The four found themselves the subject of much scrutiny in the diner, all of Storybrooke seemed to be discussing the events of the previous evening and glancing at the sheriff as they spoke in hushed voices.  Snow and Charming kept a boisterous conversation going with Henry to pretend that they didn’t notice the staring and whispers.  Emma could not ignore it and she held her head low over her bowl of oatmeal and rested her head on her chin.

When the bell over the door announced a new patron to the diner, all conversation abruptly stopped.  Regina had entered and stopped, noticing the changed atmosphere.  She quickly recovered and spotted the Charmings.  She strode over confidently to their table and gave a polite smile.  She brushed Henry’s hair back from his forehead as she spoke, “I see you’ve chosen a very healthy Breakfast.”  She looked disgustedly at his pile of chocolate chip pancakes drowning in syrup before turning a scathing expression to the sheriff, who had slouched down further in the booth and refused to meet the mayor’s gaze.

“Miss Swan.  I wonder if I might have a word.  In private.”

Emma felt her stomach drop.  She was not ready for this today.  She had no plan in mind.  Now that she had accomplished her goal she felt terrified that she would screw it up.  She nudged Henry to let her up out of the booth.  Whispering broke out all over Granny’s as the women walked outside.  The denizens of the diner did not even try to hide their voyeuristic observations, craning their necks and pressing faces against the glass.  Regina, turning and seeing them, rolled her eyes, and grabbed Emma’s wrist to lead her out of view.

The moment Regina touched her wrist, Emma’s head snapped up, feeling as though her skin were tingling as it had in her dream.  Eyes wide, she followed Regina around the corner.  Regina stopped abruptly and dropped their contact without ceremony.  She turned briskly and gave a perfunctory smile. “Miss Swan, I’ve come to discuss the arrangements for our…appointments.”

“You mean our dates?”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s a bachelorette auction.  I didn’t pay $1,500 for an ‘appointment’.  I paid for a date.”

Regina was momentarily stunned.  She stared for just the briefest moment before she recalled her determination to regain the upper hand.  Straightening her spine, she clipped “Well, call it what you will, I have come to make arrangements.  I’m a busy woman and I’ll need to put you in my schedule.”

“Great.”

“Now seeing as mine was the higher bid, I will be planning our first ‘appointment’.”

“Wait, what?!  That’s not how it works.”

“Really, dear?  I was unaware that this was negotiable.  You forget, I paid a pretty penny and I intend to get what I want.”  As she spoke the last words, she leaned closer and her voice dropped to a growl.

Emma’s mouth went dry but she tried to hold it together as she said, “Fine.  It doesn’t matter anyway.  So where and when do you want to meet?”

“Why don’t you meet me at my office, Saturday afternoon, two o’clock.  Don’t be late.”

Emma gulped, recalling her dream with sudden blinding clarity.  She tried to think of a witty retort, but Regina had already turned and begun to stroll away.  Emma couldn’t help but stare after her a moment before shaking her head and walking back into the diner.  People stared as she returned to the table.  She sat down heavily and buried her face in her arms.

She had a date with Regina Mills on Saturday.  She hadn’t the first idea what to expect.  And it was still Monday morning.  She groaned.  This was going to be a long week.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big hugs and thanks to my betas, Hunnyfresh and Lupwned who are amazing! And thank you for reading and commenting! You guys are the best!
> 
> Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Once, the characters, etc. I am writing for fun, not profit.

Despite her initial fears that the week leading up to her date would last forever, Emma found herself on Saturday morning waking up in a panic.  Like she had the day of the auction, she groaned and pulled herself out of bed before the sun, a feeling of cold dread pooling in her stomach.  In this case, however, despite the numerous discussions she had had with Henry and her mother, there was no plan in place.  They had discussed what Emma should do with her date, what Regina might be planning, how best to turn the date to her advantage, and what to wear.  This last point felt like the one meriting most of the attention to Emma.  She wanted to look perfect for the date, but she was unsure what the plan was so she was unsure what to wear. 

In the end, Mary Margaret had helped her to select a simple but sexy little black dress.  It was not inappropriate for the early hour of their date as the skirt hung to mid-calf and the three-quarter sleeve gave it a very classic look.  Still, it fit her like a glove and with the collar exposing her shoulders and her hair pulled back to emphasize her long neck, she looked beautiful in it. 

Emma took her time eating cereal while kicking her sock-clad feet, one sock hanging halfway off her foot.  She was so absorbed in her thoughts about what the day ahead might bring that she didn’t hear a soft knock and did not look up until she heard “Emma?” and looked over to see her mother standing in the doorway. 

Snow, for her part, had paused a moment before saying her daughter’s name, taking in her nervous kicking and her troubled expression.  She knew that Emma was terribly anxious about her impending date.  She took in her sloppy pajamas and her tousled hair and knew it had been a restless night.  She gently let herself into the apartment and walked over to the table, sitting down and saying, “Oh sweetheart, I’m sure it’ll be just fine.”

Emma groaned and pushed the cereal away from her so she could lean her elbows on the table saying “I just really want to impress her but I always seem to get all nervous and defensive around Regina.”

Snow snorted, “Honey, everyone gets nervous and defensive around Regina.  She does that to people on purpose.  You just have to be yourself.  You are the only one who constantly challenges her.  Besides, if she didn’t like you as you are, why would she pay $5,000 to spend a day with you?”

Emma’s scowl only deepened as she said, “That’s what makes it even worse.  Why would she spend that much money on a day with me?!  She hates me!  I mean I had hoped that I could maybe turn that around, but…what do you think she’s expecting of me?”

Snow placed her hand atop Emma’s on the table and waited until the blonde looked her in the eye, “What she’s expecting, I don’t know.  But once we get you ready and out the door, what she’s going to get is the hottest, most eligible bachelorette in town.”

Emma gave a tentative smile at this and sighed, nodding her head.  “I’d better go get in the shower if I want my hair to be dry in time to get ready.” 

Snow nodded and automatically picked up Emma’s bowl and spoon, taking them into the kitchen and washing them.  She knew that she had to help Emma build her confidence for this date, but in truth, she felt extremely apprehensive.  Regina’s demeanor throughout the week had been much more reminiscent of Emma’s first days in Storybrooke than the recent months.  She had been snapping at people more often and avoiding contact whenever possible.

Having known Regina for as many years as Snow had, she was unsure what the older woman was feeling, but she was certain that Regina was dangerous when she felt cornered.  Although Emma had complained endlessly all week about the presumption of Regina insisting that because she had paid more she should get to plan the first date, Snow felt that giving some ground in this case might just get Emma through this alive, if not unscathed.

Although she had only known her daughter a relatively short time, everything she knew about her told her that Emma’s feelings for Regina ran deep.  She was not known to engage in romantic relationships, she favored pursuing meaningless encounters.  Snow suspected Emma had not put this much thought and emotion behind courting one person for a very long time, if ever.  Henry’s involvement only complicated things further as Snow knew that if things did not go well, not only her daughter, but her grandson as well, would sustain a broken heart.

Emma emerged from her bedroom, hair hanging wet around her shoulders and dressed in a robe, distracting Snow from her musings and sighing as she sat at the table. 

“What in the world have I gotten myself into?”

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Regina stormed into her office at 12:00pm precisely.  She was determined to have everything ready to go but everything seemed to be going wrong today.  That imbecile waitress at the diner had spilled a cup of hot coffee on her this morning, burning her lap and ruining her outfit.  Normally, this would have been enough to set Regina’s temper off.  But she had painstakingly chosen the perfect outfit for her “appointment” (she refused to call it a date) with Emma in the afternoon.  She had been nearly apoplectic and Ruby, who normally was fairly unshakable, made a run for the kitchen before the steam pouring out of the former queen’s ears could scald her.

Regina had marched home and changed, but she felt now that all of her planning to carefully ensure that she was in a position of strength had been compromised.  She felt edgy and much less confident of her current pinstripe pantsuit than she had her favorite charcoal pencil skirt and blue silk blouse.  She was unsure why it even mattered so much to her what the sheriff thought of her outfit; this whole situation was utterly absurd.

Her assistant had been told to be at the office promptly at 12pm and that she may leave at 2pm.  She had not, however, shown up until nearly 1pm, complaining about a flat tire or some such nonsense, forcing Regina to fire her and brew her own coffee.  She glanced at the clock every few minutes, growing increasingly impatient to get this nonsense over with.  Every time she looked at the time, she felt her anxiety and uncertainty swell. 

1:03, 1:05, 1:08…

She needed to stop looking at the clock or she was going to go insane.  She attempted to distract herself by reading a proposal to build a high school in Storybrooke.  Under the curse, there had been no need for a high school, but now that the children were aging, they would need to expand.  She read through the thorough fundraising plan and conceptualization. 

1:12

Sighing, she gave up on the paperwork and stood, walking to the window and looking out on her town.  She forced herself to take a deep breath and reminded herself that this was _her_ town.  She had spent decades controlling the flow of events to craft every minute detail to her liking.  There was no way that she would allow the daughter of her enemy to make her lose her grip on things.

She was so lost in thought that she completely lost the thread of time passing as she stared blankly out the window.  As a bright yellow bug pulled into the parking lot, she snapped to attention and glanced at the clock. 1:37. Emma was early.  Indignant that her instructions had not been followed to the letter, she moved with catlike grace to perch herself on her desk chair, poised with pen in hand and waited for the blonde to burst through the doors like she generally did.

1:42

Surely it could not take five entire minutes for the blonde to walk inside.  Regina believed she was dim, but even she could not be lost.  She huffed and shifted her position, slightly, straightening the papers on her desk and flipping back her hair.  The minutes crawled by as her hand, tightly gripping the pen began to cramp and she huffed impatiently.

1:48

Unable to stand it any longer, despite knowing that she risked the high ground if she appeared to care, she stood briskly and marched to the window.  The sight that met her caused her hand to cover her lips hastily, suppressing a giggle.  Despite her earlier feelings of animosity, the chuckle that left her sounded strangely affectionate, even to her own ears.  Emma had stood from her bug and was pacing in front of it, restlessly checking her phone for the time every few seconds.  She started to walk toward the door, clearly talking to herself, then glanced at the phone, shook her head, and turned back to the car.  She did this two or three more times, Regina watching with a smile and shaking her head.

1:57

Glancing at the time again, Regina decided that the blonde was sure to get up the nerve in a moment and if she wanted to regain her poise, now was the time.  She took up her place at her desk again, her lips curling upward again as she felt relieved that despite her own nerves, the sheriff was definitely much more off balance. 

At precisely 2:00, a knock sounded at the door and Regina called “Come in” while carefully looking only at the paper in front of her.  “Thank you for being on time, Miss Swan.  Please hang up your coat and join me.”

Emma swallowed nervously before removing her borrowed dress coat and hanging it on the coat rack next to the door.  She turned and began walking toward the desk when Regina looked up, her eyes instantly widening.

Regina took in the tasteful yet unquestionably sexy dress Emma was wearing, with smoky make-up highlighting the green of her eyes and her hair pulled up into an intricate braid on top of her head.  She looked stunning and Regina was completely unprepared.  She had expected the sheriff to show up in her normal jeans and appalling jacket.  She mentally shook herself as she realized she was staring and that Emma was sitting in front of her, looking increasingly confident under the clearly appreciative gaze of the mayor.

Standing and walking over to her sidebar, she poured herself a glass of water and asked “May I get you something to drink, Miss Swan?  I’m afraid I don’t have the disgusting sugary drinks you tend to prefer, but I have water, coffee, or tea.”

“Water would be lovely, thank you.”

Regina poured a glass and handed it to the young woman, still seated at her desk.

“But Regina.”  Regina looked up without speaking, urging with her silence for the blonde to continue, “If we’re going to spend the day together, we may as well get on a first name basis.  It’s Emma.”

Regina felt herself off balance again as she watched the blonde give a crooked half-smile and take a sip of water, a drop of it clinging to her lip before she flicked out her tongue to grab it.  She cleared her throat.  “Emma.” 

Even to her, it sounded like her voice had dropped an octave.  She saw Emma’s eyes flash with some unknown emotion and looked away, sitting back behind her desk and taking a moment to regain her earlier feeling of confidence in her ability to dominate this encounter.  She mentally pulled on her mayoral mask and said, with an easy smile, “Well, Emma.  I’d say we should get started, wouldn’t you?”

Emma shrugged, unsure what to make of the rapid change of atmosphere.  “I’m game.  What did you have in mind?”

Regina reached down into her desk drawer, allowing Emma a glance down her blouse as she leaned over, showing just the barest hint of black lace.   Emma forced herself to look away toward the ceiling.  When Regina straightened back up, she smirked, realizing that the sheriff was attempting to be chivalrous by not looking at her chest. 

“Why don’t we start with these?”

Emma’s eyes turned down toward what Regina was pointing to on the desk.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Regina lowered her voice seductively and purred “Oh I never kid about this, Emma,” she drawled the sheriff’s name, adding an extra dose of sultriness.  “This is something I take very, very seriously.  I expect you to be very, very thorough.  You will not be leaving this room until I am completely satisfied.”

Emma gulped with wide eyes as she took in the mayor, whose face was curled into a devastatingly sexy smirk.  She nodded her head and reached out her hands.

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Emma slammed the door of her apartment as she entered and kicked her shoes off, not caring that they flew across the room, one of them knocking over a potted plant.  She growled in anger as she tossed her coat onto the coat rack and her keys and phone onto the coffee table before flinging herself on the couch and throwing an arm over her eyes.

Snow came out of Henry’s room frowning at the noise.  “Emma?”

Emma merely grunted.

“It went well, I take it.”

Emma sat up and looked at her mother with red-rimmed eyes.  “It was horrible!  I’ve never felt more humiliated.”

“What happened, Emma.”

“Nothing!  That’s exactly what happened.  It’s the same old Regina bullshit.”

Snow sighed, sitting next to Emma on the couch and giving her a moment before she decided to prod again.

“So she mocked you or started an argument?”

“No, it was so much worse.”

“She hurt you?”

“She barely fucking looked at me!  Do you know what she had me come over to do?  Paperwork!  She had me filling out police reports she said she had asked for a week ago!  She said she resented me not doing it during the hours Storybrooke paid me for, but that she was sure going to get her money’s worth with her evening.”

As Emma spoke, she angrily swiped at the tears that she could not stop from rolling down her cheeks.  Snow felt unsure how to proceed.  She could understand how Emma felt and she certainly didn’t enjoy seeing her daughter hurt.  Still, she couldn’t help but feel that this was a really odd way for Regina to show her power.  The Regina she knew as the evil queen or even the mayor could have devised a much more painful or humiliating evening for Emma if she wanted to.  She also felt that maybe there was more to the story.

“So you just sat there and did paperwork the whole time?”

“Yes!  Haven’t you been listening?”

“So then you haven’t eaten since this morning?  I know you didn’t eat lunch, you must be starving.”  She stood and walked toward the kitchen to make Emma something to eat.

“No, that’s ok.  Actually, Regina brought me dinner.”

“Oh, I see.  Grilled cheese from Granny’s?”

“No, actually she made these homemade wraps and fresh vegetables.  It was pretty good.”

Snow sat back down next to Emma, her lip twitching slightly in the corner.  “So she made you dinner herself.”

“Yeah, I guess.  She of course said that she refused to eat the greasy trash that I do.”

Snow’s smile grew.  “And she just sat there silently while you worked and then sent you home?”

“Well, no.  I mean we talked when we ate dinner about what Henry’s been doing in school and stuff.”

“I see.”

“And when I was leaving, I sort-of kissed her.”

“What?!  Next time, that’s the news that leads, Emma.”

“It wasn’t a big deal.  It was really spontaneous and quick and she didn’t even kiss me back.”

“Wow.  So you kissed her and she didn’t kiss you back and then you just left?”

Emma shrugged, “What else was I supposed to do?”

“Emma, honey, I love you, but you are dense.  You must get it from your father.  He is so completely, adorably clueless sometimes.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Regina, the Evil Queen, the mighty Mayor of Storybrooke spent the day with you.  She did not argue with you, she made you dinner, she made pleasant conversation about the son you share.  All of these things are indicators that this evening was not a failure.”

“But I wanted it to be perfect.  I wanted it to be a date.  I wanted her to kiss me back.”  With each sentence, Emma slouched down more in her seat, her voice dropping off to a petulant mumble. 

“Sweetheart, when you kissed her, did she slap you?”

“No.”

“Did she threaten you with sexual harassment or threaten to take Henry away or yell after you.”

“No.”

“What did she do?”

“I…I don’t know, nothing.  I can’t be sure.  I sort-of ran for it.”

“Then you don’t know what she felt about it.  Maybe she just wasn’t ready.  Or maybe she just wants to be friends, wouldn’t that still be better than all the fighting?”

Emma sighed again, deeply, “It would.  But now I’ve screwed it up again.  Who’s to say that she won’t threaten me now that I kissed her.  Or that any friendship would even have a chance when I’m such a bumbling jerk.”

Snow reached out and pushed a stray curl back from Emma’s forehead.  “Honey, you can’t change the evening now.  All we can do is plan an unbelievable date for when you get your turn.”

Emma pulled a throw pillow and groaned at the thought that now she had to begin planning her own date.  They had agreed on next Saturday, so she had less than a week and now she felt like she had no idea where to even begin.

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Regina took another sip of the scotch in her study, feeling the smooth liquor burn down her throat and warm her belly.  She probably should have stopped after the first, but she feels so out-of-sorts that the heady intoxication she is building feels infinitely more comfortable than the dizzying thoughts racing through her mind.

Emma had truly wished for a date.  Despite Emma’s words outside the diner, she had never considered the younger woman to be serious in calling it a date.  But she had been certain that the blonde truly did wish for one from the moment she strode in wearing that dress.  Of all the possible motivations that had occurred to her for the sheriff’s clear stretch of her expenses to purchase an evening with her, this was the most frightening.

She could acknowledge that the younger woman was attractive, but they had spent so much time at each other’s throats that the thought seemed entirely foreign.  Well, perhaps if she was honest, not entirely foreign.  And they had been getting along much better recently. 

Emma had clearly dressed for a date, not for an evening of paperwork.  Regina had found her gaze wandering more often than it had toward her clock in the early afternoon toward the lovely woman in front of her desk.  From under her lashes she had noted the way Emma pushed the tip of her tongue out of the corner of her mouth when she concentrated, a trait that their son mirrored.  She had noticed that when she got really frustrated, the blonde would try to run her fingers through her hair only to be foiled by the intricate braiding.  She would pout for a moment each time this happened and then return to her work.

Regina found herself smiling softly at the recollection and shook herself, reaching to take another healthy gulp of her scotch.  She had no reason to be noticing these inane details about the sheriff, let alone recalling them later in the evening when she was trying to unwind at home. 

She had felt it only appropriate to provide dinner as she was certain they’d both have been forced to eat some greasy monstrosity from the diner if Emma had her way.  She had taken care in preparing the meal, enjoying the opportunity to cook for someone other than herself for a change.  Now that Henry was no longer at home, she felt most nights it was pointless to really cook and had taken to eating salads alone. 

Their dinner conversation had been pleasant enough, but she certainly would not have considered it a date by any means.  They had stayed on common ground, discussing Henry, and kept their comments brief and to the point. 

But the thing that had her refilling her glass now for the second time was the thought that Emma had kissed her.  She had leaned in as Regina reached to turn off the light when they headed out of the office and pressed her slim pink lips against Regina’s plumper red ones.  Before Regina could even formulate a response, the blonde had turned and fled, jumping in her car.

Regina had merely stood stunned for several heartbeats before pressing her fingers to her lips, marveling at the tingling they retained even after the blonde had driven away.  The thought of the kiss now made her stomach churn.  It was presumptuous and inappropriate and…wrong.  Still, she couldn’t help noticing that as she recalled the kiss now, her fingers had drifted back up to ghost over her own lips.  She couldn’t forget the taste of Emma’s lip gloss on her lips when she licked them as she drove home alone.  She couldn’t deny the warmth she felt at the thought that maybe the blonde had something special in store for their date.

Even if she had planned something though, surely she would not carry through with it now that Regina had behaved as she did.  She groaned and leaned her head back, allowing it to hang over the back of the couch.  She tried her best to shut out the thoughts that sought to force her eyes open once more and sighed deeply, the scotch helping her to put aside her disturbing thoughts as she fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always to my fabulous betas lupwned and hunnyfresh! And thank you so much for your kudos reviews - I hope you’ll continue to share your thoughts!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own OUaT, the characters, settings, etc. I just visit now and then for fun.

Despite having spent the weekend utterly confused and off-balance, Emma found a renewed determination and a burst of inspiration the following Monday.  She had a silly grin plastered to her face as she and Henry ate their Lucky Charms in the morning.  To this point, she had grumbled about doing paperwork but had refused to really talk to him about the date.  He had assumed that Operation Stallion had suffered a critical defeat and that an abrupt abort was called for.  But this morning, Emma had a devious little smirk on her face and every now and then she’d release a little giggle.

“So it can’t have been that bad, huh?”

Emma turned her attention to him, her grin widening, “Oh no, it was awful.”

Henry frowned, “Then why are you grinning like that?”

“Because now it’s my move again.  And I had a brainwave that makes me think we might just pull this off, kid.”

Henry’s face broke into a grin that mirrored his mother’s, “Phase Five, huh?”

“Phase Five.”

“Excellent, so what’s the first step?”

“The first step is for me to walk you to school.”

Henry groaned dramatically and said “Come on, Emma.  You need my help!”

“I do indeed.  I need you to go learn and come home smart so you can support me when I’m old,” she winked at him and lowered her voice conspiratorially.  “Plus, I need to go get in contact with some allies for Phase Five.  It’s critical work, we’re under a tight deadline.”

“So you scheduled your next date?”

“Oh yes, next Saturday.”  Her smile broadened again as she thought about the plan evolving in her head.

“And you are going to plan something good even though you had an awful time on your date and only did paperwork?”

“It wasn’t a date, Henry.  It was an appointment.”  For some reason that was completely beyond him, the blonde began to giggle at the thought. 

“Um…ok.  Well, I better go get ready for school.”

Emma was lost in thought again and merely nodded in response.  Now she understood that Regina had been right all along.  That was certainly not a date; appointment would have been a much better description.  And Emma planned to highlight the difference.  After spending a day and two nights endlessly thinking through her failed Phase Four and Mary Margaret’s words to her, she had decided that she needed to commit.  Regardless of the outcome, she would not torture herself any longer.  She was going to go all out, do everything in her power to knock Regina’s socks off.  If nothing came of it, she at least would know it was not for a lack of trying.  All at once, she had known exactly what she needed to do.  It was going to take help and a lot of work, but if everything worked out the way she hoped it would, she truly believed she had a shot.

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She had dropped Henry at school and made a beeline for the first, and most critical, ally she hoped to recruit to her cause.  She hurried to Granny’s and found a spot at the counter, bouncing her leg as she watched Ruby taking orders at another table.  Ruby spotted the fidgety sheriff and stopped to make her a hot chocolate before approaching.

“Looks like you’ve had just about enough coffee this morning,” she teased with a grin.

“It’s not that, its…I had my ‘appointment’ with Regina on Saturday.”

Ruby gasped, “Ok, sister.  Spill.”  She leaned her elbows on the counter and cupped her chin, suddenly enthralled.

“Well, there’s not much to tell.  It was pretty much exactly what you’d expect.”

Ruby wrinkled her nose, “Don’t tell me she did something awful like made you report to her office for a stack of paperwork.”

Chuckling briefly at the thought that the young brunette knew her well enough to guess that paperwork would be the worst form of torture for her Emma replied, “Right in one.”

“Oh Emma, I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be at all.  I talked it through with Mar…with Snow and she helped me realize that maybe it wasn’t a complete loss.”  Emma’s silly grin returned now.

Ruby studied her ridiculous smirk for a minute before saying, “Emma, this is really something, isn’t it?  You like her don’t you?”

Despite her reluctance to discuss her feelings and make herself more vulnerable, Emma had already determined that if she was going to pull this off, she’d need to set aside her own insecurities about relying on others and ask for help.

She blushed prettily as she nodded.

Ruby squealed and clapped her hands together, calling the attention of the entire diner to her.  She waved her hands and said, “Back to your meals, nothing to see here.”

Emma’s face had gone from rosy to bright red at the added attention.  She cleared her throat uncomfortably and said quietly, “Look, that’s why I’m here.  I need your help.”

“Name it!  Nothing makes me happier than playing cupid in the cause of true love.”

“Knock that off!”  Emma’s ears were burning.

Ruby giggled and said, “Ok, so fill me in, what’s the plan?”

“Well…first I have to know that you will keep this confidential.  Except for Granny, I’m going to need some help from her too.”

“Emma, of course,” Ruby looked slightly insulted that she had even asked that.

“It’s just…I’m really hoping that this will be perfect,” Emma drummed her fingers against the counter anxiously.  Ruby reached forward and covered the tapping fingers with her own.

“Emma,” the blonde’s head snapped up “It’s going to be perfect.  Just tell me what you need.”

Emma gave her a small sigh and a genuine smile before she explained.

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Step Two found Emma clutching white paper sacks from Granny’s as she walked into Henry’s school.  She smiled at the children walking by to go outside for recess as she approached Snow’s classroom.  She found her inside, collecting homework from the students’ desks and held up the bags saying, “Chicken salad croissant, side of fruit?”

Snow beamed at her as Emma walked toward her and held out the bag.  “You are a lifesaver!  It’s fish sticks in the cafeteria today,” her nose wrinkled at the thought.  It was a trait that Emma recognized from Henry’s face and from her own.  She frowned, suddenly uncomfortable at the thought that most people’s mothers and sons probably did not help in their relationships.  She glanced at her mother and sighed. _They also do not have a mother who appears to be the same age, who spent months living with them as friends, discussing one night stands…_

Emma decided to cut short this line of thinking and said, “So I’ve got an idea of what I want to do for Saturday.”

Snow nodded as she took a big bite of her croissant.  She regarded her daughter thoughtfully for a second before she said, “What can we do?”

Emma’s face twisted a little, she didn’t want Snow to think that she only came to see her when she wanted something.  “Do you think maybe I could just tell you about my idea and you could tell me what you think?  You guys kind-of have the romance thing down pat,” she finished with a crooked grin.

“Of course, Emma.  I’ve been dying to know what you had in mind.”

“And this doesn’t…I mean, this isn’t uncomfortable for you?”

“Well, no.  I mean if it goes really well, that’s really all you need to say about it.  I don’t really need details.”

“Deal,” Emma wore a disgusted expression at the thought of discussing that with her mother.  “Listen,” she continued, “I’ve got Ruby on board and she’s talking to Granny.  But for what I’ve got in mind, I could really use some extra hands.  I thought maybe seven pairs…”

Snow nodded, “I’ll talk to Leroy.  I’m sure that if I ask, they’ll help you with whatever they can.”

“Great!  Ok, here’s the plan…”

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Regina woke up Saturday morning flustered and completely out of sorts.  She jumped into the shower and shampooed twice rather than conditioning.  She did not notice until she was out of the shower combing her dripping wet hair and realized it did not feel quite right.  Realizing her mistake she sighed and stepped back into her shower.

For the last week her anxiety had been building about what this evening would involve.  She had studiously avoided Emma all week.  She had gone to work early and stayed until well after dark, rushing home.  She had forgone Granny’s coffee all week to avoid accidentally bumping into the Sheriff.  She was determined not to spend the entire week thinking about Emma and anticipating their appointment…no, their date. 

She couldn’t help but notice, however, that on Wednesday when she rode the city hall elevator after Emma, a trace of her smell clung to the air.  When had she started noticing the sheriff’s smell?  She couldn’t help that as she drove through town, she had to double take when she saw a slim blonde walking down the street and she stared for a moment before realizing it was Abigail, who raised a hand in greeting and continued walking.  Despite her best efforts to avoid the blonde, she actually missed their interaction, even if it was only to spar over some small matter.

Their only actual contact that week had been when Emma had stopped in to Regina’s office on Friday.  Her new assistant announced that the sheriff was there with paperwork for the mayor to sign.  Regina’s heart had leapt into her throat, which she promptly cleared to try to make her voice steady as she said, “I’m just finishing a phone call.  Please give me two minutes and then send her in.”

It was a feeble lie that would be exposed the moment her assistant looked at the multi-line phone at her desk and saw that the mayor’s line was not lit.  Still, she felt that she needed a moment to prepare.  Her heart raced as she reached into her desk drawer for her compact, fluffing her hair nervously and refreshing her lipstick.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and then heard the latch click in the door and forced a practiced smile on her lips as she looked up.

Emma smiled broadly as she entered and inclined her head, “Madam Mayor.”

“Sheriff, please come in.”

Emma approached the desk and set down the stack of papers in her hand.  Regina was relieved that the sheriff was dressed in her traditional jeans and tacky leather jacket once again.  But she found her gaze wandering toward Emma’s cleavage, visible beneath her shirt as the blonde leaned over her desk.  She forced her gaze back up to Emma’s eyes, but not before she saw the cocky smirk that clearly indicated she’d been caught.

“Was there anything else, Sheriff?  I have another dozen calls to make this afternoon.”

Emma’s smile turned soft again as she nodded, “There is actually.  I wanted to discuss our plans for tomorrow evening.”

Regina felt her mask slip as the anxiety she felt about their impending date flashed through her eyes before she resumed her previously steady smile and said, “Yes, I imagine we should do that.  Where shall I meet you?”

“At your house.”

“Excuse me?  You plan to have this evening take place at my home?”

Emma’s smile was unbroken as she said, “No, Madame Mayor.  I plan to pick you up at your home and then escort you to the actual venue for our date.”

Regina automatically said “Appointment,” but her mouth had suddenly gone dry and the word came out husky and not at all authoritative.

Emma’s smile only widened as she leaned forward and placed her palms flat on the desk, “Oh, no, Madame Mayor.  This time it’s my turn.  And make no mistake,” She gazed directly into Regina’s eyes, who gasped at the intensity she saw, “This.  Is.  A.  Date.”

Without waiting for a response, Emma turned and put a little extra sway in her hips as she walked away.  She called over her shoulder without looking, “Be ready at 6:00.”

Regina continued staring long after she had closed the door and walked out into the outer office.  She realized that her jaw was hanging open and quickly closed her mouth.  She could not understand when this had happened to her.  She was the one who was always under control.  How could the infuriating young woman have so completely unraveled her careful control and turned her into this confused mess?

That night she dreamt of Emma.  It was not the first time the blonde had made an appearance in her dreams.  In fact, the beginning of this dream was similar to one she had previously.  Absent Henry’s presence, she had been sitting at her dining room table eating dinner.  Unexpectedly, someone knocked on the door.  She rose and set her napkin aside and strode to the door, a disapproving frown ready for whoever was rude enough to interrupt her meal.  When she opened it, the sheriff was staring at her intensely. 

“Miss Swan, Henry’s not here.”

“I’m not here for Henry.”

“Well what are you here for?”

“You.”

Only this time the dream did not proceed to her execution, but to fevered kisses, Regina pressed against the wall in her foyer.  Hands roamed bodies as both women gave in to the overwhelming attraction between them.   Just as Emma’s hand had reached the button of her trousers and met her eyes with green ones full of lust, Regina had awoken.

Immediately, she had jumped out of bed and ran for the shower.  It was this dream that had her so frazzled she shampooed her hair twice.  Stepping out now for the second time, hair nicely conditioned and soft, she went to her closet to find something to wear for the day.  She had already decided on her outfit for the evening.  She had thought about it quite a lot during the week.  She wanted to dress to impress, as always, but she wanted to be careful of the message she sent.  She wasn’t even sure what message that was – aloof and disdainful about this foolishness?  Regal and imposing?  Flirty and seductive?  The fact that the last had even crossed her mind had her repeatedly seeking to take a drink from her carafe in the study.  It was just too absurd to think about…wasn’t it? 

Throwing on jogging pants and a tank top, she decided that for now, she would try to just make use of the day.  She had been making significant progress on her mountain of paperwork with the hours she worked all week, but she had brought home more work to keep her busy and distracted.

It was a futile effort as the papers she had brought home were Emma’s case notes, which she read over distractedly, noticing the unusual way that Emma wrote her ‘Q’s, tracing her finger over it each time it appeared.  It seemed that everything she saw or did made her think of the blonde.  She sighed and pushed the paperwork away, leaning her head against the desk.  This was impossible.  She was never going to make it through this date.

Her head snapped back up as she heard a knock on the door.  She opened it to see Henry standing on the porch, smiling warmly at her. 

“Hi Mom!”

“Henry, I…what are you doing here?”

“I thought maybe we could hang out this afternoon.  Maybe I could have lunch with you?”

“Of course, come in.”  She was flooded with relief that Henry had come just at that moment.  He was exactly what she needed.  He was the one thing important enough to distract her completely from her anxiety.  “What would you like for lunch, Henry?”

“Can we have grilled cheese and apple slices?  Like when I was little?”

Her heart swelled, “Of course we can, sweetheart.  And what would you like to do after lunch?”

“I thought maybe we could play Monopoly.”

She smiled broadly and nodded.  Monopoly was their tradition.  They were both intensely competitive and they enjoyed the back and forth nature of the game.  She set to work making them lunch as he happily chatted about his school assignments.

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At promptly 6:00, there was a knock on the door.  Henry opened it and smiled broadly at his blonde mother.  He could see the emerald green skirt of her dress beneath her buttoned black pea coat.  Her hair was loose around her shoulders in bouncy curls.  Her face showed smoky eyes and bright red lips.  She looked beautiful.

“She’ll be right down.  She’s just finishing getting ready.”

Emma nodded and walked inside the door, worrying her hands.

“Don’t fidget, Mom.  She won’t like that.  Just be confident, you’ve got this.”

“That’s what I keep telling her, too, Henry,” piped up Snow from the doorway, “Maybe we should get going, we’ve got things to do.”

“Great!  Let me just grab my coat.”

He ran right past the coat rack and up the stairs to his mom’s door.  “Mom?” he whispered as he knocked.  She opened the door.

“Whoa!”

She bit her lip as she looked at him.  “Do I look ok?”

“You look perfect.”  He smiled at her with such sincerity and enthusiasm that she couldn’t resist smiling back, reaching out to touch his chin briefly.

“I’m gonna go.  Emma’s downstairs.  Good luck.” With these last words, he threw his arms around her waist in a brief but tight hug that made her eyes fill.  Before a tear had time to fall he tore back down the stairs calling over his shoulder “Bye Mom!”

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Emma had shuffled aimlessly around the foyer for a minute before remembering Henry’s admonishment against fidgeting and forced herself to be still.  She couldn’t resist biting her lip though as she anxiously waited, hoping against hope that this evening would go off without a hitch.  She couldn’t bear if anything went wrong after all this careful planning and work from so many people.  She thought through the entire plan two and a half times exactly before her breath caught as she heard the sound of Regina’s heels clicking down the stairs.  Her gaze snapped around to see black stilettos, a burgundy skintight dress, and finally a nervous smile upon ruby lips under curled chocolate tresses.  Emma resumed breathing as she suddenly felt that regardless of where the evening landed, this moment was one she would never forget.

“Wow.  You look beautiful.”

“Thank you, Sheriff.  You look very nice as well.  So, shall we go?”

“One thing first,” she held up a black satin sleep mask.

“You aren’t serious?”

“Of course I am.  This is meant to be a surprise.  You know everything about this town.  How could I surprise you without this?”

Regina sighed and turned her back to the sheriff, allowing her to place the mask in front of her eyes.  Emma then took her hand, running her thumb briefly across the back, sending goose bumps up Regina’s arm.

“Ok, you’re going to have to trust me, but I promise I won’t let you step in a puddle or anything.”

“Shall we just get on with this, Miss Swan,” Regina forced a tone of irritation in her voice, but she did not pull her hand away, instead tightening her grip.  Emma smiled as she took Regina’s other hand and walked backward, leading her out the door.

“Please make sure to lock the door.”

“I’m all over it.  Hold on here for a second.”

Regina was satisfied, hearing the lock slip into place.  She felt warm hands embrace her own again and lead her forward gently.  She warned her of the steps and she gently helped get Regina into the car before taking her place in the driver’s seat.

Regina was surprised when she heard jazz coming through the young woman’s stereo.  “I had no idea you enjoyed jazz, Miss Swan.”

“Oh Regina,” a rich voice to her left proclaimed, “There are many, many things you don’t know about me.”

Regina felt her pulse quicken but did not respond, instead resuming her mental mapping of their drive.  She was surprised that it was taking this long to get there.  She had been certain of their route for a while but now she seemed to have lost count of the various turns and she was unsure where they were.  But with the length of time they’d been driving, she had to assume they were somewhere remote, possibly even outside Storybrooke.

All at once, her anxiety about this arrangement hit a violent crescendo.  “Where in the world are we going, Miss Swan?”

The chuckle that she got in response set her teeth on edge.  “You’ll see, soon enough.” 

Just as she was about to demand that Miss Swan take her home regardless of any silly auction, the car rolled to a stop.  She felt her stomach drop that they had arrived at their destination.  Not knowing where she was or what would happen was making Regina supremely uncomfortable.  She hated surprises.  She hated anything outside of her carefully constructed routine.  She had found comfort only in rote repetition of tasks for so long.  Perhaps for too long. 

Mixed in with her fear was an unmistakable feeling of excitement.  The most appealing thing about the sheriff was the fact that she challenged Regina, upset her routine.  And clearly based on the way the blonde had been behaving, she was really putting effort into pleasing Regina.  Not out of fear or a hazy sense of obligation, but out of a genuine desire to see her happy.  Each time Regina allowed her thoughts to stray in this direction, she hastily shut down her train of thought.  If she was wrong in how she interpreted the sheriff’s action, she might embarrass herself.  If she was right…

Emma opened the car door and took her hands, helping her up.  Regina immediately tried to draw clues from the environment around them, but the night was still and quiet.  Emma led her across a threshold into a building and up an elevator.  She led her across a hardwood floor and onto a spiral staircase.  When they reached the top, Emma led her to a chair, pulled it out, and pushed it in for Regina.  She sighed heavily.  This was the moment.

“Are you ready?”

Regina, not trusting her voice if she were to speak, nodded slightly.

Emma pulled the mask from her eyes, pushing a displaced curl back behind the mayor’s ear as Regina opened her eyes and looked around.  Regina gasped as she took in her surroundings.  She was seated at a beautifully set table for two.  The centerpiece was a trio of orchids, Regina’s favorite flower.  The table was set in elegant china and crystal, silver shining in the candlelight.  It was tasteful and beautiful and completely Regina.

But what had truly taken her breath away was her glance around the rest of the room.  Emma had made over the inside of the clock tower.  The room was still rustic, comprised of exposed brick and beams.  But strings of white Christmas lights gave the room a dim glow.  It was rustic but sophisticated and achingly romantic.  The boards had been removed from the windows, providing a panoramic view of the town, the lights in the houses below them a patchwork pattern of curtains lit from within.  It would have been freezing, but there were space heaters set up around the walls blowing warm air toward them.  Emma had thought of everything.

Emma knew Regina well enough to know that she would enjoy an elegant evening and she went through a lot of trouble to provide the perfect environment.  Regina was overwhelmed that someone would take this much care to learn what she liked and to assemble it so masterfully.  She found herself unable to speak as she stared around.

After several minutes, Emma moved from standing behind Regina to sit at the table across from her.  She looked worriedly at the brunette.  “Regina?”  To her horror, she realized that Regina’s eyes had filled with tears.  “Oh god, um…Regina.  I’m so sorry!  I didn’t mean to…upset you or anything.” 

Regina looked up at her finally, her eyes still full of tears but her lips spreading into a wide smile. “This is beautiful, Miss Swan.”

“Emma.”

Her smile widened as she nearly whispered, “Emma.”

At that moment a throat cleared behind them and they turned to see Henry in the doorway dressed in his little suit holding a bowl in front of him. 

“Come in, Henry.”

He strode forward and placed the salad on the table in front of them.  He kissed each of them on the cheek before turning and running back out.

“Henry helped with this?”

“Yeah, well, pretty much half the town did.  I can’t take credit for this all on my own.” 

She reached forward and began to dish salad on to both of their plates.  Manicured fingers curled around her hand, still holding the salad tongs.  She looked up at Regina, who smiled softly at her and said “Yes, you can.”

Regina released her hand and stood, prompting Emma to frown and say, “Where are you going?”

Regina smirked at her as she replied, “To remove my coat.  I didn’t wear this dress to have it covered all night.”  Regina was immensely relieved that she had gone for an outfit that was fit for an environment this elegant as certainly her typical suits wouldn’t do.

She slipped off her coat and Emma gulped as she got another look at the dress.  Despite having seen it at the mansion, she found its effect had not lessened.  It hugged Regina’s curves in all the right places and left just the right amount to the imagination.  She stared as Regina resumed her seat and took a bite of her salad. 

“This is terrific, did you make it?”

“Regina, what happened?”  Emma’s inability to stop herself blurting out her thoughts reared its ugly head.  She kicked herself mentally for ruining the moment they’d been building.

“Excuse me?”

“Well last Saturday you were sort-of cold and now you’re being sort-of flirty.”

“Is that a problem?  I thought this was supposed to be a date.”

“It is.  I just want to make sure you…are you just acting this way because of the auction?  Because I guess I kinda hoped you’d maybe want to be here.”

“Well, I am here because of the auction…”

“Right, of course.” Emma’s face fell as she picked at her salad.  Again, Regina’s hand wrapped around it as she said “But I’m glad that I’m here.”

Emma’s face lit up and she turned her hand over, grasping Regina’s in her own.  She felt uncertain about Regina’s changed attitude but she decided for tonight, she would simply enjoy it.  Perhaps Regina was just closing out what she saw as her end of the bargain.  Either way - there was a beautiful view, delicious food, and a stunning woman in front of her, and Emma was determined not to talk herself out of enjoying this evening.

Having barely touched their salads, they were surprised when a moment later Charming came in carrying two domed plates.  He placed them on a side table and removed their salad plates and placed the domes in front of each woman, lifting the tops to reveal swordfish on a bed of rice with grilled vegetables.  It smelled amazing and both women smiled at him as he cleared his throat nervously and excused himself.

“How did you get this food here?  And how did you get your family to agree to serve it?”

Regina did not wish to diminish the pleasure she gained from watching the Charmings serve her, but she nevertheless wondered how in the world Emma got them to agree to this. 

Emma merely smiled up at her and waggled her eyebrows saying “Magic.”

Regina smiled and took a bite of her fish, which melted in her mouth.  She moaned at the taste and sensation.  Emma’s mouth went dry observing her.  She was mesmerized by the actions of the brunette, even simple ones like her dabbing at her mouth with a napkin.  She forced herself to look away, afraid that she might drool in a minute, and decided to sample the very expensive dinner she would be working shifts at the diner to pay for.  They enjoyed light conversation during dinner mostly about town gossip or Henry’s school projects. 

It was comfortable and easy now, as it had been when they shared dinner the previous week.  All anxieties were set aside as they laughed together about the antics of the dwarves and shared stories of difficulties getting Henry to eat vegetables.  Emma was over the moon, flush with her success.  Her shit-eating grin was back as they finished their fish and a bright chardonnay.  When Snow entered and smiled broadly at them before placing dessert in front of them, removing their dinner plates, they smiled shyly at one another.  Snow placed a hand on her daughter’s cheek before leaving them alone again.

Dessert was a gorgeous slice of chocolate cake with two forks.  They picked up their forks, silently looking into one another’s eyes as they sampled the rich devil’s food.  They did not break eye contact until Regina leaned forward with a piece of cake on her fork extended toward Emma’s mouth.  Emma eyed the cake for a moment, her eyes widening as she realized the implication and leaned forward to take the bite offered, her eyes meeting Regina’s again.  She had difficulty swallowing the treat as Regina’s eyes darkened.

As they finished the dessert, soft music began playing from below.  Apparently the dwarves were serenading them from beneath the tower, three of them strumming guitars.  Emma rose from her seat and extended her hand to Regina.  When Regina took her hand, she pulled her to her feet and put her hands on the brunette’s waist.  Regina snaked her arms around Emma’s neck and pulled her close.  They swayed together in the clock tower, lost in the moment and completely unaware of the Charmings and Henry below, looking up at the slowly moving silhouettes above, smiles on their faces for a job well done.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update for you, dear readers – I love you all! A million thanks once again to my charming and delightful beta-readers Hunnyfresh and Lupwned. And thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> Please enjoy and please review!
> 
> Disclaimer: Obviously, I don’t own the characters or the town or anything.

_They swayed together in the clock tower, lost in the moment and completely unaware of the Charmings and Henry below, looking up at the slowly moving silhouettes above, smiles on their faces for a job well done._

They swayed together for two songs and then three before Regina broke the silence.  “Really, though Emma.  How did you accomplish this?  I was in here two weeks ago with the building inspector discussing the renovations and this whole building was a mess.”

Emma looked at her and said, “Well, the dwarves have been helping me all week to clean up this area.  That was the…um…other reason for the blindfold.  The rest of the building is sort-of a mess, but I wanted the clock tower to be perfect.  I know how much the town means to you, Regina.  Other than Henry, I don’t think you care about anything nearly as much as Storybrooke.  I wanted you to be able to look out on the town you created.”

Regina was unsure how to respond, even how to feel about this.  Emma was quite correct that other than Henry, Storybrooke was the one thing she loved.  Still, she felt strange about the idea that Emma so easily accepted that she had “created the town”.  It was a brutal reminder of the curse, something Regina had been trying desperately to leave behind.  She sighed as she reminded herself that Emma’s intention had been good.   

Emma had noticed her tense as they continued to stand with their arms wrapped around each other, stilling their previous movement.  She watched Regina’s face as a complex flurry of emotions passed over it before the brunette sighed and gave Emma a tight smile. 

“Thank you, Emma.  This has been a truly lovely evening.”

“Thank you for being so…willing to go along with everything.  I really wanted it to be special.”

“It was.”

Emma heard the past tense and understood their evening to be at an end.  She released Regina and walked to the table, holding out Regina’s coat for her to slip her arms into.  She pulled on her own coat, blew out the candles, and turned off the space heaters.  The strings of Christmas lights she left lit as she joined Regina in climbing down the spiral staircase.  As they rode down the elevator together, they exchanged a shy smile, neither sure how to proceed now that the evening was ending.  When they reached the ground floor, Emma extended her hand in a gesture to say _after you_. 

Regina saw that indeed, the ground floor looked just as it had when she visited.  Emma opened the door to the street and stopped to lock up the library before walking toward her bug, opening the passenger door and looking expectantly at Regina. 

“My house is a block away; I think I can walk home.”

Emma merely smiled and shook her head, “This is a full-service date, Madame Mayor, door to door service.”

Regina returned her smile and took her seat in the bug.  She was surprised to find the interior to be spotless and an orchid matching those from the table in the dashboard vase.  She found herself unable to stop smiling at the miniscule details that had been planned for the evening.  It truly was remarkable.  She gazed in wonder as Emma took her seat and fastened her seat belt.  She stared at her as they pulled away and drove the block to Regina’s house.  Halfway there, Emma felt the eyes on her and looked over.  “What?”

“It’s nothing, dear.  I was just thinking that I never would have expected…”

“Yeah, me too,” Emma said, her mouth lifting in a crooked grin.  “It’s not so bad, though, right?”

“No,” Regina agreed softly, “It’s not so bad.”

When they pulled up in front of the mayor’s mansion, Emma leapt out of the car to open the door for her again.  She offered a hand to assist the mayor out of the car.  Regina took it and was surprised when the sheriff did not let go of her hand once she got to her feet.  Instead, Emma wrapped her fingers around it and led her to the door.  She stopped and stood looking at Regina for a moment before dropping her gaze.

“Thank you, Regina.”

“Why on Earth are you thanking me?”

Emma looked right at her with a bright smile, “For being so beautiful the rest of the night had to rise to the occasion.”

Regina was shocked momentarily to hear something like that come from the sheriff and the only response she could muster was to lean forward and gently brush her lips against Emma’s.  She pulled back and looked at the blonde whose eyes were still closed, her lips slightly parted.

“Thank you, Emma.  This was…well, nobody’s ever done anything like that for me before.  Emma, I…thank you.”

Emma opened her eyes during this and grinned widely.  She felt giddy.  “You already said that,” Emma said as her gaze dropped to Regina’s lips and she leaned forward to press her lips more firmly against the full lips of the mayor.  She was delighted when Regina responded, allowing her another kiss, and then another before putting her hand on Emma’s shoulder and gently separating them.

“I meant it.  But I think we should leave things here for tonight.”

Emma smiled dizzily at her.  She nodded and said, “Good night, Regina.”

Regina watched her turn and walk down the path away from the house.  Emma had just reached down to unlatch the gate when Regina called after her, “Emma!”

Emma spun around, confused.

Regina walked down the path until they were only a few feet away and said, “I paid twice what you did, right?”

“What?”

“In the auction, I paid twice what you did for our dates.”

“More than twice,” Emma nodded, deciding for the moment not to quibble over whether their first evening together could really be considered a date.

“Well, then by rights, I should get another date, right?”

Emma’s jaw dropped, she stuttered, “Uh…another date?”

Regina stepped forward saying, “Well, it seems only fair, doesn’t it?”  She finished the question huskily and looked up from under her eyelashes at Emma, captivating the blonde with her eyes.  She wrapped her fingers around Emma’s wrist.

“Only fair.”

Regina smirked for a moment at the sheriff’s inability to speak.  She lifted Emma’s hand and placed a feather-light kiss on top before gently dropping her hand and saying, “Good.  Next Saturday night.  Come here.  Eight o’clock,” she turned and began to walk back up the path calling over her shoulder, “Don’t be late.”

“Wait…Regina!”

Regina turned to see the sheriff shuffling her feet nervously.  She wouldn’t meet her eyes as she said, “I…uh, can’t come next Saturday.”

Regina lifted an elegant eyebrow, “No?”

“No, I uh…I have other plans.”

Regina felt a hot stab of anger in her belly that felt a bit like jealousy as she bit out, “Other plans?”

Emma blushed and looked skyward as she said quickly, “I have to work at the diner.”

“What?”

“I agreed to work Saturdays for the next month for Ruby so she can have date nights with Belle.  It was part of the deal for…you know, tonight?”

Regina suddenly realized the lengths Emma had gone to secure this evening.  She must have spent a large portion of her savings at the auction to agree to work a second job for a month.  She felt warmth spreading through her as she realized this meant something to Emma.  She smiled broadly and said, “Are you free Friday evening?”

Emma nodded, still not meeting her eyes.

“Good.  I’ll see you at seven, Sheriff?”  Emma rolled her eyes but then looked at Regina and realized she was using her title teasingly; Regina was flirting with her.  The left side of her mouth quirked up as she visibly brightened.

“I’ll bring the wine.”

Regina smiled and walked up the porch.  She turned to see the sheriff still standing there as she pushed the door open.  “Good night, Emma.”

Emma smiled blissfully, “Good night, Regina.”

Regina smiled back and walked inside, turning on the light as she closed the door.  Emma turned to walk back out to her car and sighed happily.  She was going to have a second date with Regina Mills.

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Emma glided into her apartment feeling on cloud nine.  She closed the door and fell back against it, closing her eyes and smiling.  She looked up and saw Henry curled up on the couch, fast asleep. 

“He tried to wait up for you,” Snow whispered, coming in from her room with an afghan wrapped around her shoulders.  “I didn’t want to wake him up to move him.”

Emma nodded, still smiling dopily. 

“It went well, then?”

Emma nodded again, pushing away from the door and dropping her keys on the coffee table.  She bent down and kissed Henry on his temple.  He stirred and blinked his eyes a few times before saying, “Emma?” 

She smiled and said, “Hey, kid.”

He instantly shot up.  “You’re home!  How’d it go?  Did you kiss her?”

Snow’s eyes widened and she scolded him, “Henry!” but then her face fell a bit and she looked over at Emma, “Did you?”

Emma smiled broadly and blushed and Snow covered her mouth and cried, “You did!”

Henry was jumping up and down.  “It worked, it worked!  Operation Stallion rules!  You did it, you did it.”  He wrapped his arms around her waist, still wiggling excitedly.

“Calm down, kid.  We’re not picking out china patterns, we’re just going on another date.”

“You are?!” Snow smiled brightly and said, “Did you ask her or did she ask you?”

“She asked me.”

Snow shook her head and smiled, “You really did it, Emma.  I can’t believe it.”

“Gee, thanks, Ma.”

Snow chuckled, “Not like that, she’s just…very lucky.”

Emma grinned and spontaneously threw her arms around her mother, hugging her tight and whispering, “So am I.”

Henry was doing a cha-cha and singing, “Operation Stal-lion.  Operation Stal-lion.”

Emma and Snow laughed together and turned around saying in unison, “Henry - bed.”

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Regina stood in front of her mirror and brushed out her hair.  She smiled softly to herself as she thought over the evening.  It was incredible how much her thoughts had changed over the week and the major turn they had taken tonight.  Perhaps not her thoughts; perhaps her feelings had changed.  She felt drawn to Emma in a way she had not been able to acknowledge before.  Even before this past week, the sheriff had frequently been in her thoughts.  They say the line between hate and love is thin.  Love?

She looked at her own wide eyes for a moment before shaking her head and grabbing her toothpaste to brush her teeth.  Obviously it was absurd to consider love, it was only an expression.  She could not deny being attracted to Emma – she shivered as she thought of the intensity she felt when their lips pressed together.  She rinsed her mouth and smiled at herself in the mirror.  She could not remember the last time she felt like this. 

And as soon as she thought this, she remembered.  The heady feeling of immortality she’d experienced with Daniel.  Her heart ached suddenly remembering the aftermath of this feeling when it ended.  She looked at herself hard in the mirror.  She wasn’t sure she could risk that feeling again.  She had to consider Henry now.  The last time her heart broke, she had cared only for herself and had allowed her misery to take her to a dark place, but there was nobody else to give her pause. 

It had hurt her deeply to kill her father, but she had felt so abandoned by him as a child as he ignored her bruises and enabled her abuser.  She could never forgive that he had allowed her mother to pass her off to Leopold, who cared just as little for her. 

But now if her heart were broken, if she became the Evil Queen again, she would disappoint Henry, maybe hurt him or cause him to be hurt by others.  She could never live with herself if that happened.  She suddenly felt afraid of the pull she felt toward the sheriff.  She could not allow this to continue.  She was startled to realize how much that thought hurt. 

She leaned over the sink to wash her face.  She simply could not allow it to continue.  Her son’s happiness meant more than her own.  She would have to see the sheriff and explain.  She felt her stomach flutter as she considered seeing the blonde.  She was disturbed to find that she was excited as well as nervous and she rinsed her face, patting it dry.  She looked intensely at the mirror and said, “Never again,” before turning off the light and going to bed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love you all, thanks for reading! Thanks to Hunnyfresh as always for her help and guidance. I hope you’ll enjoy and let me know what you think! Your reviews make me happy. :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Once, the characters, or the settings. This is for fun.

Emma was a terrible waitress.  She had mixed up people’s orders, broken seven plates and five mugs – which Granny assured her she’d be working an additional shift for – and her crowning moment when she dropped Leroy’s bun off the top of his burger and tried to surreptitiously pick it up off the floor and replace it on his plate.  Granny had seen and had flicked Emma with her rolled up dish towel saying, “You tryin’ to kill someone, Sheriff?”

Emma sighed as she dumped the plate in the garbage can and picked up the coffee pot to go refill table four.  She had not waited tables since she was seventeen and now she remembered why.  Her feet and back ached from working all day as Sheriff before taking the closing shift at Granny’s.  Every time she started to groan about it, however, she would remember why she had agreed to do this and a soft smile had come to her lips along with the thought, _it was totally worth it._

She tried to repeat this to herself a moment later after she nearly tripped over Pongo, who was on the floor next to Archie, and spilled the hot coffee down her front.  She hissed as the coffee scalded her and quickly set down the coffee pot on the nearest table before she could drop it.  She reached for the metal napkin dispenser and tried to blot the coffee off her top.  Just as she started desperately scrubbing at it, the bell chimed signaling the entrance of a new patron to the diner. 

Her superpower told her that she was shortly to become even more humiliated than she already was.  She turned slowly, cringing in preparation and came face to face with a smugly smirking mayor.

Shit.

She colored brightly but she stated in a highly controlled voice, “Madame Mayor.”

“Sheriff Swan.”

“Can I…uh…get you anything?”

“Well, I had planned on coffee, but –“ she allowed the word to trail away as her eyes swept over Emma’s body.  Covered in coffee though she was, Emma felt herself flushing for a reason other than embarrassment as a hunger flitted through the mayor’s eyes when they met her own again.  “Tea perhaps.”

“Of course.”   Emma walked away to make Regina’s tea.  She was mortified that this was how she’d seen Regina next.  Truthfully, although their date had been just two nights ago, she had found herself thinking constantly about ways to run into the mayor accidentally.  None of those had anything to do with her dripping in coffee. 

She served Regina her tea and left to go clear the tables of the patrons who’d walked out.  The diner was beginning to empty now to allow them to close.  Emma continued cleaning the dining room but staring at Regina as she sipped her tea.  She found herself grinning goofily again as she took in small details she liked the most about the mayor.  The way she tried to drink it plain but pulled a face at the taste and looked around as though afraid someone would see her adding sugar to her tea.  Emma’s grin widened as Regina pursed her lips to blow on the hot liquid just as Emma passed to clean the coffee pot.  She turned her back, thinking of the way those lips felt pressed against hers.

“So do you have to stay much longer?”

“Um…no, just a few more minutes to turn in my bank and lock the place up.”

Regina merely nodded and sipped her tea.

“Why do you ask?”

Regina shrugged and said, “Thought I could take you home.  Henry said your car broke down.”

Emma gaped for a moment and then said, “Thanks, yeah.  That would be great.  I’ll just be a minute.”  She disappeared into the back before jumping up excitedly and then taking calming breaths, her face split in an ear-to-ear smile.  Regina had asked her for a second date.  She had kissed her.  And now, as if knowing that the sheriff had been wishing for it, she showed up a full four days before their next date.  She fluffed her hair and pulled on her top before dropping her bank and swaggering out to see about a girl.

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Regina’s heart was racing as she waited for Emma to return.  She sipped her tea, suddenly wishing she’d thought to order something stronger.  She felt her hands shaking at the thought of what she was about to do. 

When she had walked into the diner tonight and seen Emma with coffee spilled down her front, she had found herself amused by the sight of her sheepish Lucille Ball “Did I do that?” face.  Even at her most graceless moments, the woman was intriguing and very pretty.  She had lost the nerve to say what she meant to or to offer a ride.  She had barely been able to order her tea without fidgeting, a habit she loathed as it communicated weakness.  She forced herself to sit still and calmly sip her tea as the blonde moved around her cleaning the café.

After accepting Regina’s offer of a ride home, Emma had disappeared into the back and Regina was stuck sitting anxiously.  Unconsciously her foot began to tap on the floor as she continued to ponder the best way to let the sheriff down without hurting her.  She sighed, acknowledging that she would not be able to completely avoid hurting Emma.  She hated that she had allowed things to get to this point.  She had allowed her feelings to get away from her careful control briefly and the result had been that she must now hurt the only person besides her son showing her kindness.

Especially because the best way to end this without revealing things about herself that she was unprepared to share was to convince the sheriff that she felt nothing for her.  She hated being forced to acknowledge that it was a lie – she could no longer deny her feelings for the blonde. 

But that was all the more reason she must put a stop to things now before it got more painful for both of them when inevitably things ended. This might hurt Emma in the short term but in the long term it was saving her from a far greater pain.  Confidence restored in the soundness of her plan, she nodded briskly to herself and drank the dregs of her tea, wincing at the taste.  She heard footsteps behind her and turned with a stiff smile on her lips.

Her smile faltered briefly as she noticed the broad warm smile on the younger woman’s face as she approached.  She stopped moving only when she was in arm’s length from Regina.  Leaning in she brushed her palm down Regina’s arm and kissed her cheek, lingering slightly longer than was friendly.  Regina closed her eyes smelling Emma’s shampoo above the much less enticing aroma of soaked-in coffee.  She breathed deeply, careful to open her eyes before Emma leaned back and smiled at her.

“I’m ready.”

Regina nodded and walked out ahead of the blonde who locked the door behind them.  They climbed into Regina’s Mercedes and she drove them to Emma’s apartment building.  Emma reached over and rested her palm over Regina’s hand on the gear shift as she drove and Regina felt goose bumps race up her arm at her touch.  This was going to be considerably more difficult than she’d realized.

She pulled into a parking spot before the building and turned off the car.  Emma took this as a positive sign and leaned over to kiss Regina’s cheek again, just to the side of her ear.  She kissed a trail across her cheek to her lips and placed a tender kiss there.  Emma put her hand to Regina’s cheek and was surprised to find tears there.  She pulled away, concerned.

“Regina, what is it?”

Regina mustered her courage, taking a deep breath and arranging herself in her seat to face Emma, subtly moving away from her.  Emma’s frown deepened as she took in the change of posture.

“Come on.  Tell me what’s up.”

“I’m afraid I have to cancel our appointment for Friday.”

“You mean our date.  You said date.”

“Miss Swan, I’ve given it some thought and I believe this is highly inappropriate.”

“Inappropriate?”

“Yes, it is a violation of proper ethics for the mayor to date a civil servant who reports directly to her.”

Emma reeled back as if she’d been slapped, “A civil servant?  Ethics?  But…Regina…this is ridiculous.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Miss Swan.  It is absolutely ridiculous.  I believe I have fulfilled my obligation.  There is no need for any further interaction between us outside the workplace.”

Emma sat in stunned silence for a moment.  Well, Regina hoped it was stunned.  She may also be livid and holding back from exploding.

“This is bullshit, Regina,” Emma’s tone was dangerously low.  “Two days ago you kissed me.  You asked **me** for a second date.  Whatever game you’re playing, I don’t understand the rules.”

Regina gave a mirthless chuckle, feeling that she was going to fall apart soon and she needed to depart the blonde’s company before it happened.  “Somehow your failure to grasp the situation does not surprise me, Miss Swan.  It’s fairly simple.  This idea you have that you and I have a relationship beyond what our work and our mutual care for our son constitutes are nothing more than misplaced puppy love.”

Emma stared at her for a moment, eyes wide.  Her lip began to quiver and tears flooded her eyes.  When she seemed to comprehend that she was breaking down in front of Regina she abruptly slid out and left the car, slamming the door and running up the stairs to her apartment.

Regina heaved a shuddering breath and laid her forehead on her fingers, draped around the steering wheel.  She felt her own eyes fill as she gave a low groan.  She had known it would be terrible to hurt Emma but despite having realized her own budding emotions, she was amazed to realize how deeply the thought of having a merely professional relationship with the woman hurt her as well. 

She leaned her head back against the headrest, marshaling her feelings until she was able to reverse out of her parking space and make the short drive home.  She went into her empty house and felt more lonely than she’d ever felt before.  She had now managed to push away the only two people who had shown her any kindness, any care since Daniel.  With the memory of her lost love, she found that she no longer flooded with anger, only despair.  Perhaps this was the price of her choices.  She had killed people.  She had lied to Henry, the person whose trust she coveted the most.  Now she had hurt Emma, a girl who had only ever been hurt and abandoned by those she cared about. 

She had planned to go to bed but she felt so shaken she detoured to the study where she poured herself a generous glass of scotch.  She savored the feeling of it burning through body, spreading warmth that would evolve into numbness.  She sat on her couch and drank scotch and replayed the scene in the car; over and over she saw Emma’s stormy eyes fill with tears before she ran from the car.  She drank more than she should have and she had difficulty making her way upstairs to go to bed.  She clutched onto the railing to assist her as she scaled the staircase and stumbled toward her room.  What made this pain worse was that for a brief moment in the clock tower, she had been happy.

What right did she have to be happy after destroying so much happiness for others?  She kicked off her boots and threw herself into bed in her clothes, not caring that they would wrinkle.  She had planned to merely rest her eyes for a moment, but she fell into a heavy sleep.

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A drum circle decided to practice in her room.  Her temples throbbed in rhythm.  She pulled a pillow over her head with a groan and wished they would all go away.  She had no reason to get up so she planned to stay right where she was.  She sighed with pleasure as the drumming stopped and she pulled the blanket up over the pillow covering her face.  She fell back soundly to sleep, her ears covered and unable to hear the sound of angry small footprints storming up the stairs into her bedroom. 

She looked up only when the blanket and pillow were pulled away from her head allowing the sunlight to pierce her eyes blindingly.  She looked ready to destroy whoever had woken her as she lifted her hand and then lowered it back down groaning, “Henry.  What are you doing here?”  She allowed her eyes to drift back closed, shutting out the hateful light.

“How could you?!”

Regina’s eyes tightened briefly and her mouth fell open as she recalled the events of the prior evening, cottoning on to why Henry was so upset.

“Henry, I…”

“No!  After all that’s happened I thought you had really changed.  But you’re still her.  You’re still the Evil Queen and you just wanted to destroy her after all.”

“Henry, that’s not true.  I did not wish to destroy Emma.”

“Well you did!  She’s been up all night crying.  She wouldn’t talk to me at all.  She just went into her room and cried.  What did you do?!”

Regina sighed.  Her son’s reaction only served to convince her that she had been right to step back from this.  While he was upset now she could only imagine that if this happened down the road, he would be all the more upset.  She would never be able to simply date Emma, because they shared too much, but she was not prepared to have a relationship with anyone.  Not when it meant that Henry’s feelings could be hurt like they were now.

“Henry, sweetheart.  I’m sorry that you’re upset.  And I’m sorry that Emma’s upset.  But I think that it was best that this happened now.”

“You don’t care about her at all do you?”

She sighed in exasperation, “It’s not that simple, Henry.  That is not the only matter that I have to consider.  Whether I like her or not, it is best that our relationship stay professional.”

Henry sat down next to her.  He looked heartbroken.  “But she said you asked her out for a second date.  And you kissed her.”

Hating that Emma had discussed their kiss with her son, Regina bit out, “She told you that?”

“Well, not exactly.  But she looked so happy when she came home after your date and when Snow asked if you guys kissed she sorta blushed.”

Regina cast her eyes downward for a moment, recalling the kiss and feeling an acute sense of loss that it would never occur again.  The movement was minute, the expression fleeting, but Henry saw it and put his hand over hers.

“Mom,” she looked at him, “Are you ok?”

She catalogued briefly before answering, unsure how to answer honestly.  She had a massive hangover that was making her head throb.  She was disappointed and guilt-ridden that her actions had upset her son.  She was grieving for a relationship that had never existed and filled with remorse for the pain she had caused Emma.  All in all she was not so great.

She shook her head.

He crawled up the bed to sit next to her, their backs against the headrest.  She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and he leaned his head against her like he had when he was young and she would comfort him during a thunderstorm.  They sat silently for a few minutes, Regina running slender fingers through messy brown hair.

“Mom?”

“Hmmm?”

“It’s ok if you like Emma, you know.”

She closed her eyes a moment before replying, “Henry.  You want me to be honest with you, right?”

He looked up at her solemnly, “That’s what I’ve always wanted from you, Mom.”

She nodded briefly and touched his check before drawing a shaky breath and saying, “Well, I’m trying to be better, to earn your trust.  So…I do.  I do like Emma.”

He shook his head.  “I don’t know if I should believe you.  If you liked her you wouldn’t have hurt her like that.”

She sighed, “Henry, you don’t understand.  You don’t know the whole story.  I…loved someone once.  A long time ago.  I was going to marry him.”

“The Stable Boy.  I know.  And he ran away.”

She winced, recalling that the story her son read was the story she had originally told Snow as a girl.  “Not exactly.  That’s just the story that got passed along.”

“Will you tell me the real story?”

She nodded, “Daniel.  His name was Daniel.  And he…died.”

“Was he sick?”

“No Henry,” tears began to silently trickle down her face. “He was murdered.  He…we were going to run away together to get married.  I did not love the king.  My mother – found out that we were leaving.”  

She wasn’t sure why she chose to leave out Snow’s involvement.  For so long it had seemed to be the most important part of the story, the part that kept her fixated on hatred and revenge.  Now it seemed cruel to her to hurt Henry further by disparaging one of the few people he truly cared for.

He shivered at the memory of the chaos Cora had created in Storybrooke when she came.  At the time he had been so focused on the imminent danger he had never considered what it would be like to have her as a mother.  He whispered, “What happened?”

“She killed him.  I lost him, Henry.  And I lost myself when it happened.  I became so angry and so full of vengeance that I….changed.”

“You became the Evil Queen.”

She cringed at hearing her son’s words but nodded. 

“But Mom, that’s not how you are anymore.”

“I’m trying Henry.”

“No, I mean you’re more than trying.  You defeated her even though it hurt you to do it because it was the right thing to do.”

“I want to be better, Henry.  For you.”

“And you are.  You don’t seem mad all the time anymore.”

“That’s the problem, Henry.  I already know what I am capable of doing when I am hurt or angry.  If something happened and it didn’t work out with Emma, I could hurt you or disappoint you.  I don’t ever want to do that.”

“I understand.”

“You do?” She glanced at him tearfully.  He had always been far more mature than her age, but she felt so confused - it was incredible that he seemed to be taking everything in stride.

“Sure.  You told me that you don’t know how to love very well, but that’s not true.  You know how to love, you’re just scared to.  But Mom, Emma says love is strength.”

Regina was floored.  She had not realized until that moment that her mother had been wrong all along.  Every choice Regina had made for power she had done expediently, detached, and cowardly.  Power was her weakness.  It bent her to its will removing her own.  The only strength she had ever shown was when she had resisted power for the sake of love.  The love of a Stable Boy.  The love of her child.  Perhaps it was worth the risk to experience that type of strength again.

She sighed, “Well it doesn’t matter anyway.  I’ve already ruined things with Emma.  I said awful things to her.  There’s no way that she’d forgive me.”

“Uh, Mom.  That’s kinda what she does.  She sees the good in people.”

“What if there’s not enough good?” Regina whispered.

“All the more reason to let some more good in our family.”

Regina pulled him close to her, tears freely flowing into her hair to hear him describe them as a family once more.  He was her world and his distance from her had nearly allowed her to lose herself again.  In considering this she felt the fear climbing back up toward her heart but she firmly pushed it down.

“Do you know what we need, Mom?”

“Hmmm?”

“We need a plan.”

“A plan for what?”

“For how you’re going to show Emma that you’re sorry and get her to give you another chance.”

Regina sighed.  She felt extremely uncertain about whether that was even possible.  And it was not her general practice to grovel.  Still, perhaps desperate times called for desperate measures.

“Well, I know one thing for a start.”

“What?”

“This will have to be a truly impressive date.  But I don’t know how I could possibly improve upon what Emma planned.  The clock tower was really special.”

“I know exactly what to do!”

She chuckled, feeling her heart lighter than it had in days.  She hugged him to her again and kissed the crown of his head saying, “Thank you, Henry.”

“For what?”

“Loving you is what made me change for the better.  You made me feel like I could be happy.  Thank you for never letting me forget that you were the best decision I ever made.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, beautiful readers! I hope everyone had had a thoroughly wonderful week! I love you all for reading and reviewing my little story! Major love for Hunnyfresh as always for her beta-reading! Please enjoy and leave a review!
> 
> This chapter takes some inspiration from a fantastic movie, D.E.B.S. I highly recommend it. The segment in particular I was thinking of was this one (watch?v=mDi8rUvjf3E) Just put that into youtube after the url and enjoy!
> 
> If you would like to, please find me on Tumblr at Korderoo. I love prompts and animated discussion and new friends.
> 
> Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing from Once Upon A Time or D.E.B.S.

Emma had woken up for the second day in a row feeling thoroughly depressed.  Since she had come to Storybrooke, despite all the crazy battles being fought, she had not felt alone.  Although she told herself that she was being childish to be discontent when she finally had her parents and her son, after only one date Regina’s words had reduced her to the hurt, insecure, rejected mess she was the last time her heart had been broken. 

She had dressed carelessly and thrown her hair back in a ponytail.  She did not even take the effort to put in her contacts, instead pulling on her hated glasses.  Her eyes felt so puffy anyway that she felt better leaving her contacts out.  She ushered Henry off to school after a silent Breakfast of cold cereal.  He had been giving her space since she had returned from her shift at the diner.  He had left before she had woken on Tuesday morning, but when she called Mary Margaret, who volunteered at the school still, to make sure he got to class safely he was there.  She had tried to ask where he was, but he simply gave her a very poor imitation of an innocent face and said he had “things to do” before school.

This morning as he said goodbye to her outside his school he gave her a mischievous smirk she was certain he’d learned from Regina and said, “Have a good day,” before turning and running into the building.  She watched him go before letting her shoulders slump.  She turned and shuffled off to Granny’s to have her daily cocoa and start the morning.  She was going to be late to work, but she could not really be bothered to care just now.  She despised the bell for jingling merrily as she walked into the diner – it sounded too damn cheerful.  She scowled as she took a seat at the counter.

“What’ll it be this morning, Sheriff?”  Granny was working the counter as Ruby handled the Breakfast rush in the dining room.

“Just a cocoa,” she muttered.  Granny left for a moment and pushed it across the counter at the sulking blonde.

“About your shift…”

“I know, Granny.  I already owe you like another two shifts and if I drop any more dishes I’ll be stuck here for life.”  Emma snapped without raising her eyes to the woman.

“Well would you look at that?”

“What?” Emma growled.

“Here you try to tell a person they don’t need to come in anymore and they just practically bite your head off.”

Emma’s head snapped up, “What do you mean I don’t have to come in?” Her eyes narrowed.  Eugenia Lucas was no Rumplestiltskin, but she still did not go about giving things away for free.

“Your debt has been paid.  Besides, I’ve hired another full-time waiter.  It makes Ruby happy she can take some time off and…well, I think he’s going to work out just fine.”  She gave a man across the room an approving sweep of her eyes.  Emma followed her gaze and saw a thin man winking ridiculously at Granny, who looked tickled pink and waved the gesture away.

Emma’s eyebrows shot up as she said, “New guy in town?”

Granny shook her head, “Just recently remembered his past and I guess he used to be in service.”

“What’s his name?”

“Jacques Lumiere.”

Emma spat cocoa all over the counter as she choked before saying, “As in Lumiere?  The dancing candlestick guy?”

“As in an experienced server and my new employee,” Granny scolded, “Not to mention the fella who’s saving your skin, so I’d be grateful if I were you, missy.”

“So you’re just going to let me go without repaying you by working the shifts?”

“Sheriff, I’ll be saving money by not having you making a mess of my café.”

Emma snorted, having no trouble at all believing that and feeling immensely cheered up that at least she no longer had to come in to work here.

“Well, thanks, Granny.  That’s fine by me.”

“Don’t thank me, girl.  Thank the mayor.  She introduced me to Jacques and paid for your dinner.”

Emma’s face hardened at the mention of Regina.  She felt cold fury building in her stomach.  “Is that right?  How very generous of her.  I’ll take the rest to go, please.”

The absolute nerve of Regina.  Now she had invalidated the one date Emma had actually managed to take her on by paying for it herself.  It had been Emma’s intention to treat her to a special evening, but now she had taken that away.  Emma’s face was bright red by the time Granny set down her Styrofoam cup.  She slammed down the money to pay for her cocoa and stormed out of the diner without a word. 

As she turned the corner she ran into Regina headlong.  Regina held out her arms to brace Emma, who pulled roughly away.  There was nobody she wanted to see less right now.  Regina looked equally unprepared for their meeting, but appeared to be more nervous than anything.  Emma ignored this.

“Beg your pardon, Madame Mayor,” she muttered as she turned and started to walk away.

“Emma, I…”

“You know what, Regina?  I don’t really want to hear it right now.  I’ve got it.  I’m clear on where I stand with you.  I need to get to work.”  She turned and walked briskly away to the station without looking back.  Regina stood and watched her walk away until she turned the corner and then sighed, squaring her shoulders and walking into Granny’s.

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When Emma went to pick Henry up from school, he was kneeling on the sidewalk being licked by two Dalmatians and giggling happily.  She waved at him and patted Pongo’s head saying, “Who’s your friend, Pongo?”

“This is Perdita!” Henry smiled broadly at her.

“Like…from the movie, Perdita?”

Henry nooded happily, “Yes, it’s Pongo’s happily ever after.”

She smiled despite her previously foul mood and said, “I guess it is, kid.  How about you and I go get a hot cocoa?”

He jumped up and grabbed her hand, anxious to take her to the diner.

When they had been seated in their usual booth Emma nodded to Ruby who came over and said, “Cocoa for two?”

“You know it.”

“I’m on it.”

Ruby retrieved the drinks from the bar where Granny had put extra whipped cream and cinnamon on, giving Emma a nod and a wink.  Ruby set down the mugs saying, “I think Granny’s feeling pretty grateful to you right about now.”

“Why’s that?”

“Jacques.  I caught them sucking face earlier.”

“Ruby!” Emma chastised, sounding remarkably like Henry’s brunette mother.  This fact was not lost on Emma who tried to recover saying, “Besides, I didn’t have anything to do with that.”

“Well you did motivate Granny…you’re a terrible waitress Emma.”

Emma gave a mocking bow and said, “At your service.”

Ruby giggled and said, “Well, I’m glad he’s here, too.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, he loves working at the diner and it appears he’ll be spending more time with Granny.  Which gives me enough time to go to school.”

“You’re leaving Storybrooke?”

“No!  That’s what’s great, I don’t have to.”

“But there isn’t a college in Storybrooke.”

“No.  But there is a library.  And Regina suggested that part of the library renovation include adding internet access to patrons, which means I could take classes online.”

“And spend some quality time with the librarian?” Emma guessed with a grin.

“Well, that too.  But you know I’ve always felt like I wanted to do something just for me.  I feel like this might be that chance.”

Emma nodded and smiled, “I’m happy for you, Ruby.”

Ruby gave her a broad smile before gliding away to help her next customer.  Emma frowned and shook her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.  It’s just she said that your mom convinced Belle to put in the internet access so Ruby could go to school.”

“Yep.”

“You knew that already?”

“Yep.”

“Are you going to tell me how you knew that?”

He regarded her solemnly before saying, “I don’t think you’re ready yet.”

Emma sighed heavily and said, “Kid, I’m starting to really dread hearing you say that.  It always means everything’s about to change.”

“Yep.”

Emma groaned.  “What is it exactly you think is changing?”

“You’re bringing the happy endings back.”

“Henry, I haven’t done anything.”

He gave her a superior smirk and refused to say anything more about it.

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That night when she went to bed she found an envelope on her pillow.  She saw her name written in elegant script on the front.  She knew immediately who it was from and cursed her traitorous heart for racing as she picked it up.  She held her breath as she broke the seal and opened it.  She let the air out in a rush as she took in two simple words. 

I’m sorry.

Regina had apologized.  This was definitely unexpected.  She fell back onto her bed and stared at the two words.  Her feeling from the morning of being rejected and hurt had now evolved into feeling confused and unsettled.  What had all of this stuff been all day?  Was Regina feeling guilty about not sharing Emma’s feelings and therefore trying to compensate in other ways?

Perhaps.  But other than the fact that Emma no longer had to work shifts at the diner, she had benefitted directly from very few of Regina’s actions.  Henry had seemed awfully smug all day.  It seemed unlikely she would confide in him what was going on and besides, Emma was sure he hadn’t seen Regina. 

And she was sick of all this savior crap.  Why was Granny giving her extra whipped cream?  Why had Henry said that she was “bringing back the happy endings”?  She had nothing to do with anything that had changed.  She frowned as it occurred to her that it was Regina bringing them back.  That must be what had Henry excited.  Emma knew that he had wanted to believe she had changed from the start.  She looked back over the note, tracing her fingertip over the letters as she wondered what exactly Regina was sorry for.  She allowed her eyes to drift shut, the note still clutched to her chest in her hand. 

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When Emma arrived to the station the following morning to start her day, she found a bear claw and a cocoa on her desk.  There was still steam rising from the cup.  She looked around quickly, trying to determine if someone was still there.  She had a funny feeling she knew precisely which someone had left them.  She was surprised to find herself slightly disappointed not to catch a glimpse of power suit and brunette hair anywhere.  She had dreamt all night of Regina and had woken up feeling a powerful urge to seek the mayor out.  She dismissed the idea quickly.  Even if Regina had been making gestures, it didn’t change what she said.  And whether or not it was still the case, Emma was reluctant to open herself up again and risk being hurt.

Still, she smiled softly as she took a bite of the sticky pastry and allowed herself to sit back with a sigh, staring at the ceiling.  Today was Thursday.  If everything hadn’t changed she’d be sitting here planning the perfect outfit for her date tomorrow night.  She’d be looking up the meaning of different kinds of flowers, figuring that Regina would appreciate the subtlety of that form of communication.  Instead, she finished her bear claw and sat up with a groan to begin working through the mountain of paperwork that had somehow appeared on her desk in the last two weeks.

She did not look up again until nearly noon when she heard footsteps coming down the hallway.  She was surprised to see Mary Margaret walking into the station with a picnic basket in hand. 

“I thought maybe we could have an indoor picnic.  I’m afraid it’s too cold to go out for one.”

“That sounds great.  I can just clear some space…”

“Why don’t we just go in the interrogation room?  That table’s clear.”

“Uh…sure.  But why do I get the feeling that this is more than just a simple lunch.”

“Well, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Which is?”

“Let’s just set this all down first, ok?”

They set up a mini-picnic of grilled chicken caesar wraps and fruit on the interrogation table and sat down.  Both started eating without resuming conversation for a few minutes.

“So…what’s up?”

“Emma, are you ok?”

“I’m…alright.”

“Henry says you’ve been just moping around and won’t tell him what’s wrong.  Did something happen with Regina?”

Emma sighed.  She understood now why people didn’t involve their families in their relationships.  It made it so much simpler when things went sour.

“Look, I don’t really want to talk about it.  The short answer is that she made it very clear she doesn’t feel _that_ way about me.”

“Did you quarrel?  Was there something that made her respond that way?”

“No, it was nothing.  We had a great time on our date, right?  And then Monday she came to Granny’s when I was finishing my shift and she said she wanted to take me home and then she just…I don’t know.  She told me that our date was cancelled and that my feelings were misplaced puppy love.”

Emma was nearly shouting as she finished her rant, as emotional as Snow had ever seen her daughter.

“I see.  And you haven’t spoken to her since then?”

“No.  I mean, she left me a note on my bed.”

“What did it say?”

“I’m sorry.  That’s it.  No explanation.  No “Can we talk about this”.  Just those two words.”

“Regina apologized?” Snow looked floored.  She had known Regina longer than anyone and had never heard her apologize.

“Well, yeah.  But I’m not even sure what she meant by it.  And she’s been doing all these things around town.”

“I know.”

Emma stared at her for a moment before exploding, “Is this some secret conspiracy everyone’s hatched to make me insane?  Regina’s acting bizarre, everyone in town is acting like they are in an actual fairy tale, Henry is smirking at me and saying that I’m bringing back the happy endings, and now you?!”  She was on her feet pacing the room, completely at a loss as to what in the actual hell was going on.

“Well, no, Emma.  I have not spoken directly to Regina, nor am I aware of any conspiracy.  However, she did speak to Ashley.”

“To Ashley?”

“Yes.  She thought that since Ashley’s having difficulty managing caring for the baby when she and Sean are struggling so to make ends meet without his father’s support that maybe the town needs a daycare.  And since I’m pregnant and have a background in working with children, she thought that maybe I should open a daycare.  She asked Ashley to speak to me about it.”

Emma snorted, “Well at least in this batshit town one thing stayed the same – she still couldn’t bring herself to talk to you directly.  What did you tell Ashley about her stupid idea?”

Snow colored now, “I told her I thought it was a wonderful idea.”  Emma gaped.

“You thought that the Evil Queen recommending your next career move was a great idea?”

“I thought that the mayor, who put herself at risk to save the town from her mother, who raised my grandson to be a wonderful young man, and who my daughter has repeatedly assured me has changed had a great idea.”

Emma stared at her feet now.  She suddenly felt like a child being scolded, which she supposed was appropriate coming from her mother.

“Emma, I understand why you feel hurt right now.  But I think maybe you should consider all the evidence here.  I think you are again letting your own insecurity cloud your judgment.  She actually apologized to you.  Do you know that I’ve known her for about four decades and I’ve never heard her say those words to anyone?”

“Well, she didn’t actually say…”

“And now she’s gone into the town and made things better for people.  Maybe you should hear her out.”

“There’s nothing to hear,” Emma threw her hands up in frustration.  “Other than leaving that note, I have not heard a word from her.  Just all these indirect mentions.  Well that and a bear claw, which I hardly think says, “I love you”.”

Snow blinked at her, “Is that what you’re waiting to hear?”

Emma stammered, “What? Of course not.  Ridiculous.  After one date?  No.”

“Well, what exactly are you waiting for?”

Emma sighed now, deflating, “I don’t know.  Just…something more.”

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Emma sighed as she shut down the sheriff’s office well after dark.  Her mother had offered to take Henry for the night to give her some time to herself, which she gratefully accepted.  She walked to the diner, intent upon a bacon cheeseburger and several stiff drinks.  She had not gotten more than a block, however, before she was stopped by Marco and August.

“My God, August!  It’s been months!  Are you ok?  I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you, I should have listened.  I…wait a second.  The last time I saw you, you were wood.  Like solid wood.  What the heck?”

He grinned widely at her and pulled her into a fierce hug before whispering in her ear, “Magic.”

“The Blue Fairy?”

“No, actually, it was Regina.”

“Of course.”

“She managed to get a hold of me even though I had hidden myself away in the woods.  I was unsure what would happen if I crossed the border, and let’s face it…I wasn’t exactly going to blend in.”

“I’m so glad you came back!  We should catch up.”

“Later.  Right now I want to catch up with my father.” He put his arm around Marco’s shoulder, who looked at him tearfully smiling and patted his cheek.

“Right, well…have a good night then, guys.”  Before she could walk away, Marco detached from August and pulled her into a hug that made her think her ribs might have cracked. 

“Thank you, for my boy,” he whispered.

“I really didn’t do anything.”

“Nonsense, you’re the savior.  And you’ve managed to save my family.”  He kissed her on both cheeks before turning and walking away with his son.  She watched them for a minute before proceeding on to the diner.

Walking through the door she noticed so many things simultaneously she stopped and stared for a moment to allow her brain to catch up with what she was seeing.  All of the tables at Granny’s were now covered with spotless white tablecloths and candles.  She saw Leroy and one of the nuns at a table holding hands and making goo-goo eyes at each other.  She saw the mechanic, Michael, eating with his twin son and daughter.  He raised a glass in greeting as she entered, smiling happily.  She saw Archie sitting across from Sidney Glass and felt her jaw drop open as she realized they were holding hands across the table as well.

Jacques came over and greeted her with a kiss on both cheeks before saying, “My dear sheriff, where would you like to dine this evening?  Anything we can do for the savior.”

“I’m fine actually.  I…uh…think I’ll just take my order to go.”  Emma was feeling a sensory overload with all of the events of the last few days.  She needed time to process it and clearly this was not the place to do that.  She sat at the counter for a few minutes while her food was being prepared.  She kept her head down and thought over everything her mother had said, everything Henry had not said, and everything she had witnessed occurring.  She decided that she needed to find out just what the hell was going on.

Without even waiting to collect her meal she turned and walked out of the diner.  After a minute she started jogging, then running.  The rain that had been drizzling down when she’d left the station was now pouring down in sheets.  She reached 108 Mifflin Street out of breath and completely unsure what she was doing there.  She took a moment to catch her breath, despite being soaked and freezing.  Before she could even raise her hand to knock the door opened.

“Emma, what in the world?”

“What are you sorry for?”

“Excuse me?”

“Your note.  The bear claw.  All the crazy shit going on in this town right now.  I don’t understand what it all means.”

Regina blushed.  “Come inside, it’s freezing, you’ll get pneumonia.”  She reached out a hand to usher Emma inside, but Emma pulled her arm away and took a step back.

“I want to know what the hell is going on.  You kiss me and ask me to have another date with you.  Two days later you tell me I am delusional for thinking I stand a chance with you because of ethics or some other bullshit.  Now you’ve decided to become the town’s personal goddamn fairy godmother.  So tell me, Regina.  What in the actual fuck is going on here?”

Regina sighed and lowered her gaze for a moment before she resolutely stepped out into the rain in front of Emma and looked her dead in the eye. 

“Emma, I’m…I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, you said that.  That’s the one thing you’ve said.  And it explains nothing.”

“You’re right.  You deserve a full explanation and I will give you one.”

Emma waited for her to continue.  When she didn’t, Emma threw up her hands and said, “Like now?  Because if not then standing out here is sort-of pointless.”

“It’s difficult for me, Emma.  I know that you deserve to hear the whole story, but you have to understand, I’ve never shared that with anyone.  And I’m…afraid.”

“Of what?!”

“That if I tell you the whole truth you won’t look at me the same way you did on our date.”

Emma gaped.  She had no idea how to respond to something that she could tell instantly was completely sincere.  Regina was making herself vulnerable, exposing her own weak spot.  Emma had not noticed the tears leaking from Regina’s eyes in the rainstorm, but she heard the catch in her breath and instantly felt the urge to protect her.  She forced herself to stay back.

“Regina, I don’t know what to think.  You told me I was feeling misplaced puppy love.  If that’s all this is, then I don’t understand…”

She was unable to finish her sentence as Regina stepped forward and crashed their lips together.  She wrapped her arms around Emma’s neck tightly and tried to communicate in a way she was so very reluctant to do out loud how very untrue her declaration of feeling nothing had been on Monday.  Emma wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her closer, hungrily returning the kiss.  They stayed like that for what felt like a lifetime before Regina pulled back and looked into Emma’s eyes, desperately trying to see whether she was forgiven.

Emma stared blankly at her for far longer than she was comfortable with before her face split in a shit-eating grin.  Regina could only smile back as they stood and looked at each other until Emma shivered violently, reminding her that they were still standing in the pouring rain.

“Now will you please come inside so I can explain properly?”

Emma nodded and said, “But only if you’ll answer one question.”

“What’s that?”

“Is our date tomorrow back on?”

Regina gave a nervous smile and took Emma’s hand in her own to lead her inside.  “Let’s just take it one step at a time, dear.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my loves! Hopefully you’ll enjoy the update and let me know what you think! A million billion thanks to my beta and dear friend Hunnyfresh! And thank you so much to everyone who has read and especially reviewed!
> 
> Warning: Mentions of abuse in this chapter. 
> 
> Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Once or any of the characters. I promise to put them back in good shape. 

Once the door was closed and locked behind them, Regina turned to see Emma trembling and clutching her arms around herself.  She rubbed her hands up and down Emma’s arms before sighing and saying, “This is ridiculous.  You’re going to need to take off your clothes.”

Emma smirked wickedly and said, “My, my, Madame Mayor.”

Regina rolled her eyes and said, “I’m going to go get you a towel and a change of clothes.”

Emma grabbed Regina’s wrist before she could walk away and pulled Regina back, putting her free hand around the mayor’s waist and pressing their lips firmly together.  Immediately, Emma felt warmed from within.  She pulled back and said, “Or we could just warm each other up.”

Regina bit her lip and looked at Emma’s mouth before raising her gaze to Emma’s bright eyes saying, “Emma, I…”  Her words were lost as Emma began to unbutton her shirt, stopping four buttons down.  Emma stared into her eyes, afraid she might be pushing her luck, but smiling when Regina’s lips fell open and her pupils dilated. 

“I think you were right, Madame Mayor.  These soaking wet clothes are bad news.”

Her fingers moved down to continue unbuttoning as her lips attached to the mayor’s neck just below her ear.  Regina’s eyes rolled up as her head fell back but she quickly mastered herself, straightening up and grasping Emma’s hands in her own, stopping their progress.

“Emma.”

“Hmm...” Despite Regina stopping her hands, Emma continued to kiss down Regina’s neck.

Regina pulled Emma’s face up gently with a hand beneath her chin until they were looking into one another’s eyes.  “We were going to talk.”

Emma sighed.  “I know.  But…”

Regina shook her head.  “We need to talk first.”

Emma quirked her lips cockily to one side, “First?  So later then…”

Regina smacked her arm playfully and said, “At the risk of repeating myself, let’s take this one step at a time.”

Emma nodded but placed one more kiss on her lips before pulling back.  “But I really could use some dry stuff.”

Regina nodded and said, “Why don’t you use the bathroom down here to get undressed and I’ll bring you some warm clothes.”  She walked upstairs, leaving Emma to show herself to the bathroom.

Emma quickly took off her dripping clothes and hung them on the towel rack, carefully spreading the bathmat beneath them to protect Regina’s floor.  She stared at herself in the mirror for a moment. 

Removed from the heat of the moment, her insecurities returned.  She was unsure what the mayor wished to discuss but talking had never been her strong suit, especially when it came to her feelings.  Emma was chagrined to realize that part of why she was so tempted to push forward their physical relationship was that it was by far the more comfortable interaction.  She suspected that the same might be true for Regina, but she had the wherewithal to resist the tendency.

This gave Emma a glimmer of hope that perhaps Regina did have feelings for her despite her protests.  She smiled softly at her reflection as she recalled Regina’s words on the porch.  Regina was afraid that Emma wouldn’t look at her the same way she did on their date.  Emma was sure based on the way she felt that night that her look must have been somewhere in the ballpark of an idiotic grin.  She had felt so much for the brunette that night that if only half of it had been communicated, she had made herself even more vulnerable than she had realized. 

Perhaps that was why the mayor’s words had hurt so much on Monday.  She had gotten her hopes up too far and pushed too fast.  She resolved not to push when Regina returned.  She would listen attentively and allow Regina to lead the discussion.  She would not get her hopes up or attach too much importance to what was said, merely taking her at her word.  She heard a tentative knock behind her and gave her reflection a nod before opening the door a crack.

Regina smiled warmly as she extended a pair of yoga pants and a long-sleeved tee-shirt to the blonde.  Looking her up and down, Emma realized she had changed into her own silk pajamas and a robe.  Her hair was curling around her ears as it dried and her face was free of make-up.  Emma thought she had never looked more beautiful.  She accepted the clothes with a smile of her own and said, “I’ll be right out.”

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When she padded barefoot out of the bathroom having toweled off her hair and dressed in the borrowed clothes, Emma was unsure where to go.  She noticed the flickering light coming from the study indicating that Regina had lit a fire. She followed the light and found Regina perched on the edge of the couch with a glass of cider in her hand as she stared into the flames. 

“Thank you, these are much better.”

Regina’s head snapped up as though she was abruptly waking up.  She looked at Emma blankly for a moment until she used her hands to indicate the dry clothes she had donned.

“Oh, it’s no problem, dear.  I poured you a cider, too.  It helps with the chill.”  She smiled weakly at Emma before sipping from her own glass as she extended her hand to indicate Emma should sit beside her on the couch.

Emma sat, carefully keeping an appropriate distance from Regina and politely sipping her own drink.  She set it down and looked over to Regina.  Regina had returned to staring at the fire.  Emma felt her questions bubbling up inside her but bit the inside of her cheek and simply waited for Regina to speak.  After a few minutes she spoke, her eyes never leaving the flames.

“Ours was my first date.”

Emma stared at her for a moment, not certain that she understood.  “Excuse me?”

Regina turned to look at her.  “I’d never been on a date before our dinner.”

“But I thought you…and Graham.”

“Graham was a distraction,” she waved a careless hand.  “He and I never dated.  It was never that…formal.  He was a lover, not a boyfriend.”

“Well, what about the king?”

Regina snorted derisively, “Dear, the last thing Leopold was is romantic.”

Emma paused unsure before gently prodding, “And the stable boy?”

Regina sighed.  Her gaze returned to the flames and she paused for a long moment before she said, “Daniel and I never got the chance to have those kinds of experiences together.  I’m sure Henry’s probably told you the whole story.”

“Mary Margaret mentioned him when we were in Fairytale Land.  Henry never said a word.  I’d like it if you told me.”

Regina closed her eyes and nodded briefly.  She was touched that her son had kept her confidence but she felt that perhaps it was time she shared this with someone else.  She opened her eyes and took in the flames as she sighed and began to speak.

“Daniel was our stable boy from the time I was fifteen.  I knew the moment I met him that I loved him.  I believed in happy endings with my whole heart then, despite the life I had with my parents; my mother’s abuse and my father’s neglect.  All through my childhood I believed that someday I would have my happy ending; that I deserved one after everything I’d been through.  I stayed good and kept myself pure of magic and corruption.”

She took a long gulp of her drink, nearly emptying it.  She stared at it for a moment before Emma took it from her hand, standing and walking to the sidebar.  She refilled Regina’s glass without a word and resumed her seat, inclining her head that Regina should continue.

“One day as I was grooming my horse after a ride, it was spooked by a fox and kicked.  I held up my arm to block my face, but the hoof hit me hard, breaking my arm and cutting my lip.  Daniel checked my injuries and saw the bruises further up my arms beneath my sleeve.  He told me that she couldn’t treat me like that.  He told me that he’d never let her hurt me again.  And then he kissed me.  It was the first time I ever felt wanted or good enough or safe. 

He helped me back to my house and explained that I was injured.  She turned him away with a threat that she’d deal with him later for allowing me to be hurt.  She took me inside and healed my am.  But she explained that she knew that I was having foolish ideas about the stable boy being some little hero who’d come to save me.  She told me I was lucky she healed my arm but she was leaving the scar on my face to remind me the pain love causes.  She taught me that love was weakness.”

A tear trickled down Regina’s cheek and she just sat for a moment reliving her pain before she felt a gentle hand on her cheek.  Emma had brushed away the tear.  Regina dropped her eyes, afraid that if she looked at Emma she would not be able to continue talking.

“Daniel and I continued sharing secret moments around my riding lesson times, but we were never alone for long.  My mother kept a tight watch on me.  And when Snow White came bursting on the scene on her runaway horse, my life changed forever.  My mother accepted Leopold’s proposal for me and at seventeen, I was sent to become the bride of the king and the mother of a twelve-year-old girl.  I was heartbroken – terrified.  Truly up to that point I had not even considered that I wouldn’t eventually have my happy ending with Daniel,” she gave a mirthless chuckle, “what a child.  As I was sneaking around to see him because my mother didn’t approve, I imagined we would someday run away.  So when I heard her accept his proposal, I ran to the stables.  The only thing I could think was that we had to run immediately.  Daniel was so sweet.  He agreed and he…”

She gave a choked sob, “He asked me to marry him.  We were kissing and then Snow White came in and saw us embracing.  She ran as though to tell her father and I followed after, chasing her down.  I explained about true love – that it was the most powerful magic.  I told her that Daniel was my true love.  She said that she understood.  She said that she would keep my secret.”

Regina’s hands trembled and she clasped them together briefly before reaching for her glass and taking a healthy gulp.  She set her glass down and pressed her hands to her thighs as she continued, “When my mother approached Snow, she found herself unable to fulfill that promise.  As Daniel and I made to flee, my mother stopped us.  She argued with me about our leaving for a moment before pretending that she understood and would let us go.  She…”

Regina stopped talking, her eyes shut tight.  She felt Emma’s slender fingers curl around her own and she clutched onto it, bringing her other hand over to enclose Emma’s hand.

“She pulled his heart out and crushed it to dust.  I kissed him and kissed him but he would not wake up.  My mother never showed the slightest remorse.  She genuinely seemed to believe she had done the best thing for me.  She coveted power above all else.  She was determined to see me queen, to see me embrace magic; to become exactly what I became.”

For the first time she met deep green ones with her own, “Losing Daniel broke me, Emma.  There were other factors as well, but when he died, a part of me was lost.  It was as though she had crushed my heart with his.  But I was confined to this frozen existence.  Since that time I never allowed anyone to be close to me.  Not a friend.  Not a partner.  Not even my father.”

It was a testament to how silent the room had seemed for a moment that Emma’s whispered, “Henry” sounded like a firework to Regina. 

She nodded, “Yes, Henry was the first person I allowed myself to be close to.  But even with Henry, I made significant mistakes.  I allowed my insecurities about losing him to try to force a relationship just as my mother did.”

“You are not like your mother, Regina.”

“No, but I’m not like you.  My choices have changed me Emma, tainted me.  And I made those choices largely because I lost Daniel, the only person before Henry that I truly loved.”

“I think that you’re a lot like me.  I’ve made choices I’m not proud of, too, Regina.  But you know what?”

Regina was breathless as she whispered, “What?”

“Henry changed everything for me, too.  For a long time I beat myself up about choosing to give him up.  There was no way that I was prepared to care for a kid but I worried that he would end up having the kind of childhood I had; that he would be passed around.  I knew that he had been adopted, but my experience taught me that family isn’t forever. 

“When he brought me here, I was so grateful to see that he had been protected and provided for in one place his whole life.  He was maybe a little messed up,” she gave a rueful half-grin, “And I wanted to keep an eye on him, but he was healthy and smart and…everything I hoped he would be.  And I have you to thank for that.”

Regina shook her head for a minute and said, “Henry is the most important person in my life and the best thing that ever happened to me.  I would give anything to prove to him that I have changed and to never disappoint him again.”  She dropped Emma’s gaze and looked at their still joined hands as she said, “Which is why the idea of taking a risk with you is frightening.  I had a good time on our date, Emma.  I meant when I said that nobody had ever done anything like that for me.  And when we kissed, I felt…” she trailed off blushing.

Emma gently lifted her chin with her hand and said, “I felt something, too.”

Regina gazed at her intently for a moment, her eyes wandering from Emma’s intense stare to her pink lips.  “If we did this we could not just casually date.  I mean, we share a son.  It is already more complicated than if we had met normally.”

“And that’s not to mention the whole fairy tale thing.”

Regina rolled her eyes, “Yes, the Savior/Evil Queen dynamic does add another layer.”

“But Regina, those things were true on Saturday, too, and you still kissed me.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to.”

“Well, has that changed?”

Regina murmured, “No.”

“Look, I understand that this is more complicated than your average relationship, but I think it’s worth a shot.  And nobody runs away from relationships faster than me.”

“Very reassuring, Emma.”

“But I’m not running this time,” she put her hand to Regina’s cheek.  “I’ve felt this way for a long time and I don’t think it’s going away.  I want to see where this could go and I’m willing to wait if you need time.  But I think you know as well as I do that there is something here.”

“It’s just not that simple, Emma.  Even if we did – try…if something went wrong, it could hurt one or both of us.  More importantly, it could hurt Henry.”

“You know, you’re kind-of ruining the getting together moment by talking about the breaking up moment prematurely.  I’ve used this tactic before – no I’m the queen of this tactic.  You’re considering every worst possible case scenario and pushing me away.  I get that it seems like it will hurt less if you walk away before someone else leaves, but what if it doesn’t have to hurt at all?”

“Are you seriously telling me that after everything you’ve seen in your life you believe in the whole _happy ending_ nonsense?”  Her scoff might have been convincing if it weren’t accompanied by an achingly hopeful look as she searched Emma’s eyes.

Emma shrugged, “I’m saying that it’s been a long time for both of us since we let something start without considering the ending.”  Her smile turned mischievous, “Besides, from what I’ve seen the last few days around town, I’m not buying your story that you don’t believe in happy endings.”

Regina blushed and said, “Yes, well.  Our son convinced me that the best way to find my own happy ending would be to fully let go of the curse by nudging other people toward theirs.”              

“Well, it got me to come over here, puppy love and all.”

Regina clutched Emma’s hand and said, “Oh, Emma.  I didn’t mean that.  I’m sorry.  I just wanted to push you away before anyone got hurt.  I’m sorry.”

Emma chuckled, “You already said that.  And like I already said, I get it.  But I’m kinda hoping you might change your mind.”  Her gaze flicked down to Regina’s lips.

“I’m not sure how this is supposed to work, Emma.”

Emma’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she looked at the screen to see that Henry had texted to see where she was.  She realized she was very late to pick him up from her mother’s.  She sighed and looked at Regina.

“Henry.”

Regina nodded and said quietly, “You’d better go.”

“Hold on.”

Emma stepped out in the hall and dialed Snow’s number.  She picked up right away.  “Everything ok, Emma?”

“Fine.  Listen, it’s still pouring and it’s so late.  Do you think Henry could crash by you guys and I’ll pick him up in the morning before school?”

“Of course.  I take it you decided to talk to Regina.”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re ok?”

“Yeah.  I just…don’t want to leave her alone right now.”

“It’s no problem, Emma.  Should I tell Henry?”

“Can you put him on?”

“Hi.”

“Hey, Henry.  Listen, if it’s ok with you, you’re going to spend the night with your grandparents and I’ll pick you up for school.”

“Yeah, that’s cool.  Are you with my mom?”

“Right now I am.  I just want to talk to her a little longer and you need to get to bed.”

“Ok.”

“I’ll see you in the morning, ok, kid?”

“Ok, Emma.  Good night.  Tell my mom goodnight, ok?”

“You got it.  Night.”

She walked back in and sat with Regina, who had resumed gazing at the fire but looked up when she sat next to her. 

“He’s going to spend the night with my parents.”

“That’s not necessary, I…”

“Yes, it is.  Regina, after everything you’ve been through and reliving it tonight telling it all to me, do you really think that I’d leave you here alone?”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“Because I told you.  I care about you.  I have for a long time.  And I’m not going anywhere.”

Regina relaxed a bit and sipped her drink before smirking slightly at Emma and asking, “So you’ve said twice now that you’ve cared for me for some time.  Exactly when did this start?”

“Exactly?  Well, that’s hard to say.  But it was somewhere between the mine and the auction.” Emma winked at her with a mischief lifting her lips.

“You spent your entire savings in order to get a date with me, and you meant it in earnest.”

Emma nodded, blushing slightly and dropping her eyes to her lap.

“And you’d want to go on another?”

Emma’s head snapped up, catching Regina’s eyes and hopeful smile and she felt her own face split in a wide smile before she nodded eagerly and said, “Yes.  Definitely.”

Regina gave a contented sigh, “Well, I’ll say this for you, Sheriff Swan.  You’re certainly brave.”

Emma’s smile widened impossibly and she took Regina’s hands in her own, “So does this mean our date is back on?”

Regina smiled and nodded saying, “Tomorrow night.  Seven sharp.”

Emma leaned in and pressed her lips tenderly against Regina’s.  She pulled back and grinned lazily at her saying, “I’ll be here.”

“But truly, dear.  I’m fine for tonight.  I think I’d like to just go to bed.”  Regina gave a warm smiled and kissed Emma’s hand to show that she was sincerely ok and not brushing the blonde off.

Emma nodded and leaned in to give her one last breathtaking kiss before she stood and began to walk toward the door. 

“Emma.”  She turned.

“What were you planning for Henry?”

“He and my dad have a Mario Kart tournament all planned.  They had settled it before we…well, you know.  But we never changed the plans.”

“I see.”   She stood and closed the distance between them, running her hands up Emma’s arms and around to the back of her neck.  She asked huskily, “Is he spending the night?”

Emma gulped as she nodded, intoxicated by the mayor’s proximity.

“Good.  I wouldn’t want your mother to be waiting up for you.”  She whispered the last in Emma’s ear, delighting in the shiver that coursed through the blonde’s body at her words. 

She pulled back and smirked when she saw Emma’s dazed expression before pressing her lips against the pink ones before her, teasingly running her tongue over Emma’s bottom lip.  Emma moaned as Regina pulled back.

Regina waited until Emma met her eye, “Until tomorrow night, then.”

Emma nodded dumbly and turned to go.  She stopped by the door to slip on her still-wet boots and jacket.  Regina followed her to the door and watched as she walked up the path leaning against the door frame.  Emma turned when she reached the gate and waved, a warm smile lighting her face.  Regina returned her smile and went back inside. 

She leaned back against the front door as soon as it closed and took a deep breath.  She had not felt so vulnerable since she was a girl as she did right now.  But she had also never felt as free.  She gave a small smile as she thought once more of her beloved stable boy and his final words to her.

_Then love again._


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, beautiful readers! Thank you for all of your kudos and reviews! You make me smile every day. Hopefully with this chapter I can make you smile. 
> 
> Thank you to Hunnyfresh, my fabulous beta! You are the best!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own anything or make any money from this.

Regina awoke with a smile on her face the following morning.  She had expected a fitful night of sleep but found that the weight lifted by sharing her story with Emma combined with several glasses of cider allowed her to slip into a deep sleep.  Her dreams were full of warm moments with a certain blonde sheriff, the one before she woke taking on a particularly naughty theme.  She continued to grin as she turned on the water in her shower to warm and brushed her teeth. 

She felt more comfortable and contented than she had since Henry was small and she was his whole world.  She pondered the change as she replaced her toothbrush and pulled off her clothes before stepping into the nearly scalding water.  She was startled to realize that it wasn’t only Emma and Henry contributing to her new feeling of calm.  Henry’s idea to help the town find their happy endings had truly made her feel good.  She felt as though each step she took toward redeeming herself with them removed her one step further from her past, from the curse, from the Queen.

As she toweled off she grinned nervously at her plans for the evening.  She had put so much thought into it after Henry convinced her to continue with Operation Swan Song – a name chosen to reflect not only Regina’s pursuit of Emma but Henry’s retirement from operations.  Henry had told her he was fairly certain that if her operation succeeded, he would no longer need operations to achieve his happy ending. 

At first, she had been utterly baffled and intensely intimidated by the idea of planning a date for Emma.  She knew that if their first “appointment” had been her means to demonstrate her dominance in their relationship, this was her opportunity to relinquish some of her control and instead focus on what Emma enjoys.  She was determined that the evening would be perfect; Emma’s date had been exquisite.  Henry had been extremely helpful as he rolled his eyes and reminded her of the assets she had available to offer Emma without a great deal of preparation or effort.  He urged her to just relax and have fun “for once”.  She chuckled as she pulled on her clothes for the day remembering how sarcastic he had been when she had protested that she does indeed have fun.

“Yeah,” he had snorted, “I’m sure Emma would have a great time pruning your apple tree or reading Jane Austen.”

Regina shook her head at the memory of her continued indignant stammering as she looked at herself in the mirror and went downstairs to start the day.  She had gotten up extra early to go to the office.  She wanted to be home by mid-afternoon to prepare everything for Emma.  She bit her lip as she considered what she thought might happen that night; what she wanted to happen.  It had been awhile since she was intimate with anyone.

Even more unsettling, she had never been intimate with someone she actually had feelings for.  Daniel and she had stolen kisses and franticly felt one another’s bodies in their rushed moments together, but they had never had the opportunity to make love.  And she had never considered the possibility that she would ever share that with someone else. 

But the kisses she had shared with Emma to this point made her feel alive.  When their lips pressed together, she felt that her body became so aroused that she could feel the minute whisperings of Emma’s breath across her cheek.  She could feel the blood pounding through her veins, enflaming her senses and awakening something she had not felt since she was a young woman.  If she was honest, she had not even felt that intensity when she kissed Daniel, although their age and inexperience may account for some of that.

She was both electrified and terrified with the thought of Emma sharing her bed tonight.  She dropped her keys twice on the way to her car - once in the foyer and once on the sidewalk just after she locked the door.  She leaned her head back against the headrest and gave a deep sigh before the Mercedes purred with her turn of the key and she set off to the Town Hall.

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Several hours later, Emma stumbled into the kitchen and poured herself a giant bowl of cereal after a much less restful night.  She had dreamt of the mayor, but her dreams had been filled with the horrors of the stories Regina had told her.  She imagined what a young, idealistic Regina would have been like.  She nearly felt the pain herself as she watched Cora rip out a young man’s heart.  Emma had no idea what Daniel had looked like, but in her dream it had not mattered, she only saw his back.  Her eyes were focused on the heartbreak in Regina’s face. 

Emma was exhausted and extremely irritated.  She had spent the whole walk home getting soaked again and growing angrier and angrier.  How could it be that Regina’s story was so negligently left out of the book?  How could Snow have given such a minimal and highly colored story of what happened to Regina’s first love?  How could anyone expect such a young girl to react well after everything she cared about was stripped away?  And Emma knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that Daniel’s death had only been one event in a long succession of losses. 

She had never felt so fiercely protective of anyone other than Henry.  She had known for a long time that she had feelings for the mayor, but she was astonished to realize how deep they ran.  She had considered dating Regina out of intense physical attraction and the undeniable chemistry between them.  She watched Regina pursue her redemption for Henry’s sake and she never doubted that she would achieve her goal.  Regina Mills on a mission would not be denied.  As the thought crossed her mind, Emma smiled for the first time that morning. 

Regina’s past was certainly tragic and it was daunting to Emma to realize just how deep her love for Daniel had run.  His death had shaken her to the point where she literally saw no future for herself, no happiness without him.  Emma knew that she could never compete with Regina’s first love, but it occurred to her that she didn’t need to try to compete with his memory.  Just because she could not replace Daniel did not mean she could not have a place in Regina’s life.  It didn’t even mean she couldn’t occupy the role he once had.  It just meant accepting that Daniel was a part of Regina’s past and without him she would never have had the opportunity to be a part of her future.  Because there was no longer any doubt in her mind.  She loved Regina.

After one (maybe one and a half) dates, there was no way she would express the way she felt to Regina.  Just the thought of it scared Emma down to her socks.  She had told exactly one person in her life that she loved them in _that_ way and she had landed in jail, pregnant.  She had actively avoided the type of attachment that came with those words fearing the plummet that inevitably followed the climb.  Still, the most unsettling thing about loving Regina was that despite Emma’s fear of commitment, despite Regina’s past misdeeds, despite their inability to have a single conversation without argument, she felt completely confident that she had never felt this way about anyone and that she was unlikely to feel this way about anyone else.

She finished her cereal and set the bowl on the counter to trudge back up to her room.  As she threw on clothes to go walk Henry to school, she decided that her approach last night had been the best one possible and it would continue to be her strategy.  Although not naturally inclined to be patient, she had learned from her days as a bounty hunter that often it was patience and observation that got her the grab in the end.  She would go into tonight without expectations of what she hoped to achieve and let Regina take it at her own pace.  After all, Emma had been working through her feelings for months.  Regina had clearly been blindsided.  And if it meant getting the girl in the end, Emma was willing to take all the time in the world.

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When Emma arrived to pick Henry up, she avoided making eye contact with her mother.  Charming apparently had already left for the day, planning to stop for coffee on his way to the station.  She continued to be perturbed that nobody had thought it important to share Regina’s story with her.  Especially when Snow obviously knew what happened – she had known Regina before she was the Queen.  Her mother picked up on the tension and hustled Henry off to get his backpack and put his shoes on.

“Everything ok today, Emma?”

“Grand.”

“You look like you barely slept.”

“Pretty much.”

“Did you and Regina fight?”

Emma snorted, “No, we didn’t fight.  We talked.  She shared the whole story with me.  You know, the _evil_ side,” her tone dripped with sarcasm.

“I see.”

“Why didn’t you tell me what happened to him?”

Snow sighed, “Emma, look.  The history between Regina and me is long.  It is complicated.  And although I know that things aren’t black and white to you, in that world they were.  At least for me.”

“But isn’t there something evil about abusing a child?  About killing the man she loves?”

“Of course there is.  I’ve never defended Cora.”

“But you never defended Regina either,” Emma’s voice began to rise dangerously.

“That’s not true!  You know very little of our history Emma.  I saved her from being executed.  I gave her chances time and again and she chose evil.”

“And so have I,” the words burst from Emma without a thought.

Snow paused, stunned.  “What does that mean?”

“Stealing.  Hurting people.  I…I’ve done things that people think are evil.  Do you think that of me?”  Emma’s eyes had filled with tears.

“Oh Emma, honey, of course not.”

“I don’t get this…any of it.  You encouraged me to go for this.  Why are you calling her evil now?”

“Emma, listen to me.  I’m not saying she’s evil now.  I have known her a very long time.  While I can’t say that I completely trust her, I believe that she’s trying.  I believe that she loves Henry, genuinely.  And I believe that I need to give her a chance…because you are my daughter, and…” she made sure Emma was looking her straight in the eye, “and I believe that you are in love with her.”

Emma stood dumbly staring at her for a moment, but she could not hide the mingled joy and fear that crossed her face.

“Look, this whole situation has been an adjustment for everyone,” Snow continued when it was clear that Emma was not planning to respond, “But I refuse to let anything stand between us ever again.  You are my daughter.  And I love you.  And nothing you could ever do would change that.”

Emma burst into tears.  She had no idea how to respond to hearing the words she had wished to hear all her life.  She sobbed uncontrollably as her mother pulled her head down to her chest and rocked her gently.  Henry came into the room, saw the two women embracing, turned and walked back out.  They sat together for several minutes before Emma sat up and wiped her eyes.

“I know that you have a history with Regina.  I just don’t see her the same way.  My whole life I’ve been surrounded by people who made bad choices because they felt like that was their only choice.  Henry loves her and I…I think I love her too.”

“I know, Emma.  But thank you for telling me.”

Emma gave a shaky smile and said, “Thanks, Mom.”

Snow’s tears overflowed at hearing Emma’s words.  “You just remember one thing, Emma Swan.”

“What?”

“Regina and I…both of us are queens.  You are my only daughter.  If she breaks your heart, we’ll judge once and for all which one of us is evil,” she lifted her brows and gave a determined glare.

Emma gave a teary chuckle and hugged her mother before she called out, “Ok, kid.  It’s safe, you can come out.  We need to get you to school.”

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Regina was in her element.  She was in the kitchen, dinner well underway.  She was expecting Emma within the half hour and she was beginning to grow extremely nervous.  Everything was ready.  She felt surprisingly comfortable wearing dark blue jeans and a red button-down shirt.  She was dressed and ready.  Everything was prepared for their evening.  She was relishing the feeling that she was doing something for Emma, who she felt like had done so much for her.  Not just on their date.  She had saved her time and again. 

She couldn’t help but feel that just as she had with Henry she was getting a second chance with Emma.  She was unsure whether it was deserved but determined not to push the chance away again.  She checked the oven again and went to check her hair and make-up one last time.  She dabbed a tiny hint of perfume behind her ears and gave a nervous smile.  She had every intention of fulfilling her implied promise to Miss Swan tonight.  She unbuttoned one more button, smiling as the smallest trace of black lace peeked out.  No longer nervous, she smirked and turned out the light.

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Apparently Henry had not been messing around when he told her about the Mario Kart tournament.  Charming seemed to be even more excited than Henry.  They showed her the bracket they made on poster board for the eight Mario Characters they planned to race that evening complete with printed illustrations of the characters.  She grinned and shook her head at their twin excited faces as they described their plans. 

She and Henry had gone for a hot chocolate after school before she brought him over to her parents’ house for the evening.  He had declared her outfit “awesome” and said that he was sure she’d have a good time with a mischievous smile.  She had tried to pry clues from him about what their evening would entail, but he staunchly refused to cave.

“Because then it won’t be a surprise.”

Her mother had smiled broadly and told her she looked beautiful as the boys had begun to set up their game and choose their first characters to play.  Emma gave a shy smile and said, “I have no idea what I’m doing,” a statement she meant on many levels.

Snow seemed to pick up on all of them.  “You’re going to go and show your Emma Swan charm and she’ll find you irresistible.”

“You think?” Emma scrunched her whole face.

“Emma, she has shared things with you that she’s never shared with anyone to my knowledge.  I think you have to accept she likes you, too.”

Emma beamed at her and said, “Thanks.  And thanks for watching Henry; he’s been really excited about the tournament.”

“I think he’s excited to see his mothers happy.”

Emma nodded and backed toward the door.  “Well, wish me luck,” before turning and walking out without waiting for a reply.

Snow sighed, not unhappily and whispered, “Good luck, baby girl.”

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Emma parked her bug outside Regina’s house and checked her hair in the rearview mirror before taking a deep breath and saying, “Go get her, Swan,” and stepping out of the car.  She opened the back door to pull out a bouquet of red roses.  She knew that orchids were Regina’s favorite, but she had used them on the first date and she wanted to give her something different and romantic this time.  She walked up the path feeling her heart already starting to race.  She felt strange to be so nervous.  It wasn’t their first date, but it was the first since she had acknowledged how she really felt.  Still, she had no intention of declaring her feelings so she needed to just relax.  She exhaled a deep breath and shook her hands to release some of her anxiety before lifting her hand to knock.

Her heart beat in time to the click of Regina’s heels across the tile.  She forced a smile on her face over the bouquet as the door opened and her jaw dropped.  She had never seen Regina in jeans.  She had never seen Regina dressed this casually, except in her pajamas the previous night.  The thought of the silky pajamas made her face flush.  Her blush deepened as she saw the appreciative gaze the mayor was bestowing upon her.

“These are for you,” Emma said as she thrust the bouquet forward.

“They’re beautiful.  Thank you.”

“You look…different.”

Regina quirked an eyebrow.  “Different?”

“Well, yeah.  More relaxed.  It’s nice.  I mean, you look beautiful.”  _Smooth Swan._

“Thank you.  You look gorgeous, Emma.”  She allowed her eyes to wander again over the sheriff’s pinstripe pants, royal blue collared shirt, and tailored vest.  Emma wore a black leather jacket over the top.  Regina gestured behind her for Emma to enter.  Emma walked through and heard the door close behind her.  Regina walked past sniffing the roses and set them on the side table.  She put her hand to Emma’s cheek and kissed her sweetly.  She pulled off Emma’s jacket and hung it on the coat rack before turning and walking into the kitchen leaving Emma to follow moments later.

The moment she entered the kitchen, Emma moaned at the amazing smell.  She stopped and sniffed dramatically closing her eyes, “Regina, this smells like Heaven.”

“Thank you, dear.  I thought perhaps for tonight we could have some of your favorites.”

She had made turkey burgers with green chilies, avocado, tomato, and lettuce slices on homemade rolls with seasoned sweet potato fries.  Emma immediately felt her mouth watering as she looked at the meal. 

“I’ve just got to finish the burgers and we can eat.”

“Regina, this is amazing.”

“Well, I know it’s not a bacon cheeseburger from Granny’s, but I figured maybe we could find a happy medium.”

Emma walked up behind her where she stood at the stove and wrapped her arms around Regina’s waist.  She leaned her chin on Regina’s shoulder and said, “It’s perfect.”

Regina closed her eyes for just a moment before saying, “Let’s go eat it.”  She turned her head to kiss Emma briefly before moving away and handing her a plate.  Emma happily took it and started toward the dining room.

“No, wait!  Let’s go downstairs.”

Emma turned, “Downstairs?  What’s downstairs?”

“You’ll see,” Regina smirked enigmatically, picking up her own plate and leading the way to a door near the back door Emma had never seen open.  Emma followed down the stairs into a finished basement rec room complete with ping pong and air hockey tables, a bar, a sectional sofa, and a huge flat-screen TV.  Her jaw fell open and she stood gaping on the bottom step as Regina set her plate on the bar and sat on the stool in front of it.

“Care to join me, Miss Swan?”

Emma closed her mouth with a snap and walked over to sit beside Regina.

“How the hell did I not know you had a room like this?”

Regina chuckled, “Why would you know?”

“This is like the best room ever!  You’ve been holding out on me.”

“When Henry was little, I tended to go a little overboard with trying to please him.  He started making friends at school and said he wanted to have them over to play.  I looked at pictures of recreation rooms in magazines and bought everything.  It was a little above his age and when he got old enough, he mostly played in his room.”

“He definitely can’t be my kid.  This is so cool.”  Emma stopped talking in order to take a huge bite of her burger, moaning at the taste.  “Oh my god, Regina, you are amazing.”

“I do try, dear.”  Regina flushed with pleasure at the words.

“No really, if I had food like this I’d never eat at Granny’s or frankly anywhere else again.”

“You’re not pleased with your mother’s cooking?”

“No, I mean she’s good, but there are other benefits to eating here.”

“Like what?”

In response, Emma leaned over and kissed Regina firmly.  Regina wound her arms around Emma’s neck and Emma slid off her stool to get closer.  She ran her hands slowly up Regina’s thighs and around to her back, pushing their bodies together.  Regina ran a tongue over Emma’s bottom lip begging entrance, which she was quickly granted.  They both moaned together as their tongues stroked one another and Emma pulled back.  She pressed kisses down Regina’s jaw and nibbled at her earlobe. 

“Mmm…Emma?”

“Hmmm?”

“You don’t want to see the rest of my plan?”

“This isn’t your plan?”

“Well, I didn’t say that exactly.  I just thought maybe we could watch a movie first.”

“Hmmm…what movie?”

“I got The Ring.”

Emma fully stepped back from her embrace, her jaw dropping yet again.

“You want to watch the Ring?”

“Well, I’ve never seen it, but Henry said it’s your favorite.  Would you rather watch something else?”

“No!  No, I guess I’m just a little surprised.”

Regina merely smirked, “Oh Emma, I am full of surprises.”

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Other than getting the title from Henry, Regina clearly had not researched the movie at all.  Emma was surprised how scared Regina was by the movie, but she had not one complaint.  At the start of the movie they had sat slightly apart on the couch but as it continued Regina had inched closer and closer with each scare until she was practically in Emma’s lap.  Emma had wrapped a protective arm around her and Regina began to hide her face in Emma’s shoulder.  Emma had a silly grin on her face despite the creepy girl crawling over the screen as once again, Regina pressed her face to Emma’s neck as she trembled.  Emma rubbed a soothing hand over her arm and kissed her temple, chuckling.

“I never took you for a scaredy-cat, Mayor Mills.”

Regina swatted her arm playfully, “I am not.”  But she was quickly betrayed as she jumped at a loud crescendo in the music.

Emma laughed out loud.  Regina indignantly pulled away, but Emma pulled her back close giggling, “I’m kidding, come back here, please?”

Regina pouted but she allowed Emma to wrap her arms around her and laid her head on her shoulder fully.  She took Emma’s hand with her own, laying her arm across Emma’s lap.  Emma couldn’t believe her luck.  She had a delicious meal, clearly intended to be all of her favorites.  She was watching her favorite movie on the biggest screen she’d ever seen outside a movie theater.  And she was cuddling (seriously cuddling) Regina Mills.  She spent the rest of the movie staring at her companion as the brunette’s face reflected her hope as the heroine combatted the evil forces, her fear when all hope seemed lost.  She felt Emma’s eyes after a while and looked over.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No.  It’s perfect.”

Regina kissed Emma’s neck and said, “I have to know how it ends,” before turning back to the movie, nestling her head against Emma’s shoulder again.  Emma leaned her head on Regina’s.  They stayed entwined on the couch until the movie ended and the credits started to roll.  Regina looked up at Emma and said in a completely deadpan voice, “That is your favorite movie?”

“Yeah.  It’s classic!”

Regina snorted, “We’ll have to work on your definition of classic.”

“Oh _we_ will, will _we_?  Do you plan to continue to watch movies with me, Madam Mayor?”

“Well that depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether you’ll be my…partner.  I hate the word girlfriend.”

Emma sat up straight, looking at Regina completely stunned.

“Seriously?”

Regina cleared her throat as she stiffened.  “Well, I thought…”

Emma put a finger on plump red lips and said, “You want to be with me, like together?”

“Well, yes.  I thought that was obvious.”

Emma looked crestfallen for a moment.

“Emma, I’m sorry.  If it’s too soon, or…”

Emma interrupted again, “It’s not that.  It’s just…I wanted to ask you.”

Regina visibly relaxed, sinking into the sofa a little even as she smirked and said, “Too slow on the draw, Sheriff.  So, does that mean you will?”

Emma leaned in to kiss her in response, a hand behind her neck to pull her closer.  She pulled away after a moment, only far enough to look Regina in the eye, “Yes,” and then resume kissing her.  Regina pulled her closer as their tongues met again.

Emma began to lean Regina back into the sofa as they continued to kiss.  Regina pushed her back.  “Emma, I don’t think we should…”

Emma groaned and said, “Why not?”

Regina bit her lip as she looked at Emma’s jutting bottom lip as she pouted, suppressing the urge to giggle.  Instead, she leaned forward and delicately took the lip between her teeth and slowly pulled back, meeting Emma’s eyes and giving her a look that made Emma feel she was already naked.  She gulped audibly.

“Because I have a very large, very comfortable bed upstairs.”

She trailed her tongue over the lip she’d just bitten and stood, offering her hand to Emma.  Emma felt that her jaw may have become permanently unhinged at some point during the evening, but she quickly closed her mouth and took Regina’s hand.  Regina gave her a sexy little smile before leading her upstairs.  Emma nearly tripped on her feet and for the thousandth time that night caught herself grinning like an idiot as she followed Regina to her bedroom.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good Evening, Lovely Readers! Hopefully everyone is having an awesome day. This is, I believe, a chapter that some people have been waiting for. I hope that you will enjoy it! 
> 
> Thank you to Hunnyfresh for always being awesome enough to talk with me and read my stuff. You are fantastic! And thank you to everyone who has left kudos and reviewed. It means the world to me!
> 
> Warning: This chapter is pretty much only smut. If this offends you, you may want to skip to the next chapter. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any part of OUaT and I do not make any profits.

At the top of the stairs, Regina pulled Emma into another scorching kiss, running her hands up and down Emma’s back, first scraping her nails up and then ghosting her fingertips down.  Emma felt another pulse of heat shoot through her body as she responded by running her hands down Regina’s back and wrapping her hands around the perfect denim-clad behind.  She purred into Regina’s lips, who pulled back with a happy sigh, cleared her throat and pulled Emma’s hands into her own.  She dropped her eyes as she walked into the bedroom, leaving Emma standing in the doorway taking in the scene before her.

The room was decorated in simple elegance that Emma found unsurprising for the impeccable woman who continually drew her eye, exquisite as she bent to light candles on the nightstand.  The moment shifted the mood from frantic and passionate to tender and romantic, and Emma gasped.  She had never anticipated in any of her fantasies that Regina could be so willing to show such a soft, vulnerable side.  She had always envisioned tearing off clothes and battling for dominance.  Her breath was stolen as Regina turned, standing next to the bed, and met her eyes.  As Regina slipped button after button out of its hole, holding her gaze, Emma felt her mouth go dry.  With a crook of her finger, Regina smiled and called Emma forward. 

The tenderness of the moment was overwhelming her as she watched the candlelight flicker across olive skin tantalizingly peeking out from Regina’s throat to her toned abdomen.  When she caught the sparkle of Regina’s navel piercing, Emma groaned and moved forward, propelled by the growing heat within her.  She pulled Regina into her with her hands at Regina’s waist.  Their lips danced together lightly brushing across one another and then smashing together hungrily.  Emma’s fingers grazed Regina’s abdomen and across the warm metal of Regina’s piercing and she moaned, pulling her lips away from Regina’s momentarily to smirk at her and say, “You certainly are full of surprises, Madame Mayor.”

Regina returned the smirk as she leaned further into Emma, trailing her tongue from the hollow of her throat to her ear and murmured, “Oh, Emma…you have no idea.”  Emma growled and could no longer restrain herself to the delicate flirting.  She grabbed Regina’s shirt and pulled her body flush against her own.  She put her hands back on Regina’s abdomen and ran her hands around to her back, parting her shirt in the process.  Regina pulled her arms away to allow Emma to ease the shirt off of her shoulders.  Emma placed kisses in a careful line down Regina’s neck and over her shoulder.  Her hands nimbly unclasped Regina’s bra, which dropped away to the floor.  Emma pulled back and met Regina’s eyes, biting her lip before looking down to see rapidly peaking nipples capping deliciously round breasts before her.  She sighed happily and lightly ran her fingers over Regina’s skin, leaving a trail of goose bumps in their wake. 

Regina looked on in awe as Emma delicately ran one finger of each hand in a spiral, gradually approaching the hardening rosy peaks.  As her fingers found pebbled flesh, Regina cried out and Emma felt a surge of heat shoot straight to her core.  She bent her head to wrap her lips around one rosy nipple and moved her hands down to deftly unclasp Regina’s jeans, pulling them down over her hips as her mouth journeyed over to attend to the neglected side.  Regina stepped out of her jeans and pulled Emma’s face up to her own, kissing her intensely and moaning into Emma’s mouth as the blonde pulled her fingernails up her back.

Regina broke away from the kiss and husked, “This must be a first, Sheriff.”

“Mmm..how’s that?”

“You’re overdressed.”

Emma’s head snapped up as her jaw fell open and her eyes narrowed.  Regina chuckled throatily at the indignant look on her face and kissed Emma briefly before turning her attention to the buttons of Emma’s vest and then her shirt.  She purred as she ran eager hands over soft skin beneath, the fabric slipping carelessly to the floor.  She bit her lip as she unclasped Emma’s bra and saw pink nipples proudly standing beneath, but before she could become too distracted, she quickly unbuttoned Emma’s pants and knelt pulling them down.  She looked up at Emma staring down at her on her knees and felt her arousal peak.  She pulled Emma’s panties down and gasped at the sight exposed before her.  She stood and turned Emma before pushing her back on the bed.

Emma immediately grabbed for her, pulling her down next to her on the bed and beginning to run her hands all over Regina’s body.  Regina took Emma’s wrists in her hands and rolled herself on top of Emma, pinning her arms above her head.  Emma, undeterred, lifted her head to stretch her tongue out to the nipple above her.  Regina gasped and instinctively rolled her hips against Emma before she sat up, shaking her head and saying, “Tsk, tsk, Miss Swan.  You’ll have to wait your turn.”

Emma pouted until Regina lowered herself and undulated along the length of her body, brushing against Emma.  When their nipples met, Emma moaned and sank into the feeling.  Regina made a feast of licking and nibbling down Emma’s neck and down her chest, pausing to languidly run her tongue around peaked pink areolas.  She continued her path downward, her fingers replacing her mouth to tease Emma’s sensitive nipples.  Emma’s eyes rolled back in her head and she gave a shuddering gasp as a tongue filled her belly button. As the mouth continued downward and the fingers gave a particularly sharp tug, she moaned, “Regina”.

Regina stopped suddenly and looked up at Emma, “It seems you have a surprise or two in store as well, Sheriff.”

Emma looked down at her taking in the small tattoo she had to the left of her mound.  She licked her lips and said, “Wouldn’t want you to get bored, Madame May-ohhh.”

Her words dropped into a guttural moan as Regina traced her tongue over the ink, curling around the design.  Emma realized too late that one hand had disappeared from her breast when it swiped suddenly through sodden golden curls.  Regina stopped moving her tongue and moaned deeply when she felt how wet Emma was for her.  She grazed her palm across Emma before firmly grasping her within her hand.  Emma clutched the sheets in her hands and threw her head back, arching off the bed as one finger slipped between her dripping folds.

Emma cried out, nearly coming undone in an instant as she felt a fingertip circle her swollen clit.  Regina had a look of wonder on her face as she watched Emma writhing beneath her ministrations, one hand continuing to dance with pert nipples, the other plunging into warm wet depths and feeling every ridge and muscle within her.  She licked her lips as her fingers found a rhythm that had Emma thrusting her hips upward, desperate for the release she felt building.

Regina shifted her position slightly, twisting her fingers within Emma just as she pinched a hardened nipple and gave one delicate swipe of her tongue across an engorged bunch of nerves.  It was all Emma could take and she screamed as she clenched around Regina’s fingers, thrashing with the power of her orgasm. 

Having tasted the heady sweetness of the blonde now, Regina was loathe to give up her position so she withdrew her fingers, but kept her mouth anchored on Emma’s center as she replaced her fingers with her tongue.  Emma gave an animalistic growl as Regina hummed into her core, covering every surface of Emma’s center with her tongue before plunging into her once again.  Emma had little time to think as Regina’s mouth moved upward, her tongue flicking at an increasingly fast pace until Emma was whimpering, an inhuman keening escaping her parted lips.  She felt tears trickling down her face as the feeling of electric pleasure hummed through her body until Regina wrapped her lips around her clit and sucked gently and Emma screamed.  Regina continued to flick her tongue gently against Emma as she came down, panting as spasms wracked her body.

Regina crawled up Emma’s body, leaning down to gently kiss her temple, her cheek, her eyelids, and finally her lips.  Bright green eyes opened and caught her own, making her gasp with how dark they were, and how glassy.  She noticed the tears in the younger woman’s eyes, and cupped her cheek in an elegant hand.

“Em…what is it?”

“Sorry.  I just…I uh.  I haven’t done that for a while.”

“Are you ok?”

Emma chuckled, “Ok?  I don’t know if I am ok.”

“Was it…was I ok?”

Emma gaped at her, “Are you serious?”

When Regina only nodded, Emma took the hand that had mere minutes ago been inside her and brought it to her mouth, sucking two fingers and running her tongue between them as she looked at Regina significantly and said, “You couldn’t tell?”

Regina flushed, tearing her gaze away from her fingers, where Emma’s tongue was still playing teasingly across her knuckles.  “Well, I thought so, but I’ve never…performed for a woman before.”

“Are you serious?”

Regina rolled her eyes, “Yes, dear.  You already asked me that.  I’m completely serious.”

“Well, it’s just a little hard to believe.”

Regina’s face darkened, “What does that mean?”

“No, not like that.  It’s just…nobody’s ever really made me have multiple orgasms before.”

Regina’s scowl immediately brightened into a smirk.  She had the biggest smile on her face Emma had ever seen and she couldn’t suppress a giggle.  She leaned in to kiss the curved lips before whispering, “Pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you Madame Mayor.”  She rolled Regina onto her back and hovered above her, their breaths mingling.

“And why shouldn’t I be, Sheriff?”

“No, you definitely should be.  But unfortunately for you, I have no intention of allowing you to rest on your laurels.”  As she spoke, Emma moved her mouth down the column of Regina’s neck, extending her tongue to curl inside the hollow at the base of her throat. 

“Oh no?”  Regina tried her best to maintain her part in their banter but her words came out breathy and soft as her eyes fell closed, her skin on fire.

“Mmm-mmmmm…” Emma’s moan vibrated against her pulse point before perfect white teeth bit down, followed by a swipe of pink tongue.  “I waited my turn like a good girl.”

“Yes.”  It was an exhalation.  An exaltation.  Fingertips were circling her breast again and conscious thought was increasingly difficult to hold as Regina dug manicured nails into pale shoulders above her.

“And now, as a reward, I want to touch you.”  Emma’s hot tongue trailed down Regina’s clavicle and circled both nipples, covering them in wet heat before pulling back and blowing cold air across them, causing Regina to shiver and moan.

“Yes.  Oh, Emma.”

“I want to taste you.”

Regina lost all power of speech as Emma trailed her tongue down from the base of her throat, over rippling ab muscles, plunging into her navel and continuing downward, stopping just before a neat patch of chocolate curls.  Emma looked up at Regina’s head thrown back against her pillow, rich chestnut curls mussed, skin glistening, chest heaving.  It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.  She lowered her head to Regina’s left thigh, trailing kisses along it as Regina raised her knee, allowing Emma better access.  Emma kissed and nibbled a trail toward the apex of Regina’s thighs, licking the crease between her thigh and hip causing Regina to moan loudly before she moved her head to the other knee.  Regina growled with frustration as Emma kissed her way up from the knee, chuckling.

“Patience, your majesty.”

But despite her words, Emma decided to take pity on the quaking woman beneath her and gave one long swipe of her tongue across her heated center.  She brushed the flat of her tongue up again slowly before extending it and using just the very tip to trace a spiral pattern from the outside in.  Regina moaned and gasped as a hot tongue circled her opening, plunging inside her before moving back upward to circle her clit.  Emma used her fingers to spread her wider and spelled her name with her tongue against Regina’s swollen nerves, grinning as each swipe across caused Regina’s body to jerk as though electrocuted. 

Looking up at her face, Emma was startled to see deep chocolate eyes gazing down at her, pupils blown wide with lust.  She locked their gazes as she changed the motion of her tongue abruptly, spelling “I love you” in this most intimate contact as she tried to communicate the same message with her eyes.  She watched Regina bite her lips and run her own hands over olive mounds, pulling her nipples taut and making Emma moan into Regina’s core.  The vibration from Emma’s moan forced Regina’s head backward, her eyes fluttering shut.  She allowed herself to be lost in the sensation of Emma lavishing attention on her, pale hands reaching up to flatten on her abdomen, holding her still as she sucked the swollen bunch of nerves into her mouth.

Regina cried out at the sensation and then gave a deep moan as she felt two fingers slide into her waiting depths.  Emma moaned against her again feeling the tight wet heat clenching around her fingers.  She set up a steady rhythm of thrusting her fingers as her tongue began to circle, increasing pace and pressure as she went.  Regina thrust her hips upward and would have knocked Emma back were it not for the strong arm grasping her and keeping her grounded.

Regina’s fingers tangled in golden curls, needing to touch Emma as badly as she needed to continue being touched.  She raked her nails along Emma’s scalp and enjoyed another moan rumbling against her.  The combined sensation of the vibration with Emma’s lips wrapped around her clit had Regina right on the edge.

“Emma.  Please.  Please, don’t stop.”

Emma remained steady in her rhythm, adding a twist and crooking her fingers to reach the place that would make Regina come undone.  Regina lost herself as she pulled Emma’s face further into her.  Emma knew she was close.  As she increased the pace with her fingers, she pulled her lips back and flicked the very tip of her tongue quickly over Regina’s clit before circling it and continued alternating between them as Regina climbed to the peak of sensation.  As she began to tumble into her orgasm, Emma gave short hard strokes that matched the rhythm of her fingers and growled as Regina’s hands fisted in her hair.  Regina cried out, screaming Emma’s name as she clenched around her before shuddering and pulling Emma up to lay flush with her.

Emma laid her head against Regina’s chest and felt Regina’s fingers tangling in her hair as she slowly caught her breath.  After her breath had calmed, Emma lifted her face to her lover’s.  She saw that Regina’s eyes were closed, her mouth curled in blissful satisfaction.  She traced her finger over Regina’s lips and smiled when Regina placed a kiss on her fingertips.

Emma murmured, “I’m pretty sure you’re stuck with me now.”

“Hmmmm?”  Regina had not yet regained the capacity to speak.

“Yep.  Because if that’s what you look like when you orgasm, I’m definitely ruined for anyone else.”

“Mmmm…well that is the idea, dear.  You’re mine now.”

“Regina?”

“Mmm?”

“I…thank you.”

“For what, dear?”

“For the perfect date.  I really like being with you.”

“Me too.  Now hush.”  Without opening her eyes, she placed a gentle kiss on Emma’s lips and pulled her closer, her hand now trailing senseless patterns across Emma’s back.

Emma chuckled with amused affection and kissed Regina’s cheek, nuzzling her neck as she whispered, “Good night, Regina.”

“Night, Em.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks as always to my beta-reader Hunnyfresh for your support – it means the world.

“Good morning.”

Emma’s nose wrinkled as she brushed golden curls back from where they were tickling her nose and grudgingly blinked her eyes open.  When they landed on olive skin beneath her, she smiled and raised her eyes to Regina’s face.  Regina smiled down at her and traced patterns on Emma’s back with her fingertips, awakening her skin in a much more pleasant way.

“Mmmm…morning,” Emma sighed contentedly and nuzzled her head into Regina’s neck, closing her eyes once again.

“Come on, Emma. You’re supposed to pick up Henry soon.  It’s time to get up.”

Emma groaned and scrunched her eyes together, wrapping her arms more firmly around the silky skin beneath her.  She felt Regina’s chuckle against her cheek as it rumbled in her chest. 

“I’ll make you a deal.”

Emma grunted noncommittally.

“You go pick him up and I’ll make breakfast for the three of us.”

Emma opened one eye.  “What kind of breakfast?”

“I was thinking of making waffles.  They are Henry’s favorite.”

“Hmmm…with peanut butter and jelly?”

“That sounds revolting.”

Emma sat up, indignant.  “No way, that’s the best way to eat waffles.”

Regina smiled, triumphant that she had gotten Emma roused enough to sit up and discuss Breakfast.  “You may have whatever you like on your waffles.  But you need to go take a shower and pick up Henry.  And if you want peanut butter and jelly, you’d better get that too.”

Emma gaped at her, “You don’t have peanut butter?”

“No.”

“But that’s the worst curse imaginable.” Emma’s mock horror was oddly endearing.

Regina rolled her eyes and stood up from bed, walking over to her closet to find clothes for them both to wear.  They had been together for nearly a month and Emma and Henry spent most nights with the mayor, although they had not officially moved in together.  Emma enjoyed being at the mansion with Regina and Henry but was worried that she might push things too quickly, so she maintained the apartment she and Henry shared and studiously avoided becoming too comfortable.  She had not moved in any of her belongings and she made sure that she and Henry made the token gesture to go back to the apartment a few nights a week.

Henry had gone for a weekend campout with David, who was teaching him to fish.  They were to arrive back this morning and Emma could hardly wait to see her son.  Although grateful to have time alone with Regina, she was eager for him to return.  This was the longest she’d gone without at least speaking to Henry since she met him.

“I think we should have a Henry day.”  Emma said as she stepped into the bedroom wearing borrowed capri pants and button-down shirt.  She was still wringing out water from golden locks.

“Henry day?”

“Yeah, you know.  Like, let’s just spoil him rotten.  Go buy comic books and take him to Iron Man 3 and just do all the stuff he likes.”

Regina gave a soft smile, “I miss him, too.”

“So are you in, Madame Mayor?  Henry day?”

Regina walked over and gave her a brief kiss before sighing happily and wrapping her arms around Emma’s neck. “I’m in.”

Emma squeezed her arms around Regina’s waist and kissed her neck before pulling away to hang up her towel calling back, “Ok, lady.  You’ve got approximately thirty minutes to shower, change and get waffle-making.  I’m going to get the boy.”

“And you always say that I’m bossy.”

“But that’s why I love you.”

Emma froze.  It was the first time either of them had said those words.  She slowly brought her eyes up to Regina’s as her heart thundered in her chest.  “I mean, like…you know…just that I love you.”

Regina stared at her, wide-eyed.

Emma’s stomach plummeted, this was not going well.  She hadn’t intended to just drop it in conversation so casually.  She meant the words - she’d known it all along.  But she wasn’t sure if Regina was ready for her to say it.  And she had wanted to do it in some devastatingly romantic way, not slipped into a casual conversation.

“I mean,” she chuckled desperately, “It’s not like I’m in love with you.”

Regina’s face had now completely closed off.  She forced on a smile and said, “I understood that, dear.  You’d better go, Henry’s waiting.”

Emma shuffled her feet for a moment, her face beet red.  She walked over without meeting Regina’s gaze and gave her a nervous kiss on the cheek.  Regina smiled at her and squeezed her arm before turning and going into the bathroom.  Emma watched her go before turning and walking out the door and downstairs, furious with herself.  She could not believe she’d been so foolish as to let that slip.  Now Regina was acting all distant and it was all her fault.

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Regina was in the kitchen pulling the first waffles out of the waffle iron when Emma returned with Henry.  She beamed when Henry ran in and threw his arms around her exclaiming that waffles were his favorite ever.  Emma put the peanut butter and jelly into the refrigerator and stood off to the side awkwardly as mother and son shared a moment.  Henry had barely paused for breath in describing the fish he had caught and all of the stuff he learned about sword-fighting and dragons.  Emma spent the time examining Regina.

Feeling eyes upon her, Regina looked up at Emma and gave a tentative smile.  She had spent the time since the blonde had left intensely pondering those three loaded words as she got herself ready for the day.  When she’d heard them she’d been stunned.  It’s not that she’d never considered that her feelings for Emma were rapidly evolving and growing into something incredibly special.  She just had been unprepared to hear the words she had heard directed toward her so infrequently so casually thrown into conversation.  Never before had anyone offered her their love without any expectation of what they should receive in return and it left her feeling flustered.

When Emma’s immediate reaction had been to look terrified of the words she had spoken and then rapidly backpedal, all of Regina’s insecurities hit a violent crescendo and she felt her defenses slam back into place.  After less than a month of dating, it was unreasonable to be so disappointed that Emma had explicitly stated that she wasn’t in love with her.  Wasn’t it?

Sighing, Regina returned her thoughts to the waffles perfectly browned in the waffle iron in front of her.  She piled them on a plate and urged Henry to go wash up before eating breakfast.  The moment he left the room, Emma pushed off from the wall and moved closer to Regina.

“Regina, I…about what happened earlier…”

“Emma, really, it’s fine.  I know you didn’t mean it like that.  Could you please take the syrup and whatever else you may want on the waffles into the dining room?”

She had kept her tone light and casual, maintained her position of strength in the discussion.  It was everything she had trained herself to do over 28 years of forced patience.  She just needed to make it through breakfast without Emma making everything completely uncomfortable and she could focus today on her son.

Henry returned downstairs at just the right moment to prevent further uncomfortable discussion.  His face and hands had clearly been scrubbed.  They stood out like he wore flesh-colored gloves and mask compared to the lingering filth on his arms and neck.

“Now Henry, after breakfast I want you to go and take a fast shower, Miss Swan has a whole day planned for you.”

“But you’ll be coming, too, right?”

Although their relationship had been repaired for quite some time, Regina never failed to feel intense gratitude when her son expressed a desire to be near her.  She gave a genuine smile and brushed his cheek with the backs of her fingers as she replied, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Ok, moms.  So what’s the plan?”

Regina inclined her head at Emma to speak.  She figured that it was only fair for Emma to share her idea with him.

“Well, kid.  We thought we could maybe stop by The Shoebox and check out the new Avengers I heard just came in.”

“The comic book store?!  Really?!  That’s so awesome!”

“And then we thought maybe we could go see Iron Man 3.”

“Seriously?  We can spend the whole day together?”

“The whole day.”

“Can we have dinner together, too?”

Emma looked to Regina here.  They had only discussed the comics and movie earlier and she did not wish to make assumptions about the rest of the day.

“Of course we can, Henry, if Emma would like to join us.  What would you like to have?”

“Could you make meatloaf and mashed potatoes?”

Regina smiled and nodded, “Of course, Henry.  Anything you want, this is your day.  Would you care to join us?” This last part she directed to hopeful green eyes to her left.

Emma nodded eagerly, smiling.  Her mouth was full of peanut butter and waffle but she moaned around it and pointed to her plate before giving a thumbs-up.

“Emma, are you eating peanut butter on waffles?”

“Mmph…is da bes.”

Regina gave her a disgusted glance for speaking with her mouth full and smiled at Henry, “If you’re finished, Henry, you should go get ready.”  He obliged, sprinting up the stairs, clearly excited about the day. 

Regina picked up his plate with hers and moved off to the kitchen.  Emma shoved the last three bites of her waffles in her mouth at once and hurried after Regina, who had begun washing the dishes already when she arrived.  Emma’s cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, she nudged Regina out of the way and assumed the task of washing the dishes.  She gave Regina a sticky kiss on the cheek as the brunette walked out of the kitchen to check the mail.  Wiping jelly from her cheek, she opted to return to the study to wait for her partner and son, paging through a new catalogue.

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Henry had chosen six new comic books and managed to talk Regina into movie theater popcorn like a master manipulator.  Emma watched him with amusement, convinced more than ever that the thieving little jerk was definitely hers.  And Neal’s.  Especially Neal’s.  Emma needed to take lessons from the kid.  Regina indulged him like no other.  Emma could certainly use some help with being a bit smoother around the mayor.  She had been kicking herself all day for her inability to keep her mouth shut – a problem that had plagued her since birth.

Regina had not been cold to her exactly.  She had allowed Emma to sneakily kiss her in the comic book store and to hold her hand at the movie.  On the surface, she was acting normal, but Emma could feel the difference.  She had been quiet all day and reserved in a way that Emma had not seen since before the bachelorette auction.  She participated in all of the day’s activities, but held herself slightly apart from them. 

They returned to the mansion in the late afternoon and Regina excused herself at once to the kitchen to begin preparing dinner.  Henry took Emma into the living room to play Mario Kart until dinner.  At least that was what he told his brunette mother the plan was.  Once he had closed the door behind them, he rounded on Emma.

“Ok. What’s going on with you and mom?  I thought you guys were all happy and stuff.”

Emma sighed.  She had hoped that Henry wouldn’t pick up on the tension between Regina and her.  Apparently once again, their son was a bit too intuitive for his own good. 

“I made a mistake, Henry.  I slipped.”

“What do you mean?  What kind of mistake?”

“I accidentally told her that I love her.”

“Wait, what?  How is that even possible?”

Emma’s ears were already beet red, “Well, I’m pretty sure I have all along.”

“No, no.  Not how is it possible that you love her, I already knew that.  But how do you _accidentally_ tell someone you love them?”

“It just slipped out this morning.”

“So does she not feel the same way?”

Emma looked at her feet and shook her head before meeting his eye and saying, “I don’t know, Henry.  I don’t think so.”

“Well, what did she say?”

“She really didn’t say anything.  And I got freaked out and told her I didn’t mean it.”

“What?!”  Emma cringed as he exploded at her.

“How could you do that?  You did mean it, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did, Henry.  You know I did.”

“Well, you have to fix this Emma.  Today.  After dinner.”

“Henry, I don’t know if it’s that easy.”

“Look, this is ridiculous.  You guys are the grown-ups.  I don’t want to have to come out of operation retirement because you can’t just tell her how you feel.”

“Henry, it’s too soon.  She may not be ready for that and I don’t want to mess up what we have.”  Emma knew that he was right, she needed to fix this.  She was just afraid it wouldn’t work out as he hoped – as she hoped.  She felt suddenly all she had to lose.

“Emma, if you don’t say anything, it’s going to mess it up just as much.”

“How did you get so smart?”

“I get it from my moms.”  He gave her a hug around the waist as he continued, “I really liked today.  I like being with both of you.”

“I liked it, too, Henry.”  She crouched to meet his eye line, “But Henry, you know that no matter what ever happens with your mom and me, we both love you and we will always be your family.  Ok?”

“I know, Emma.  But you’re both happier like this, too.  And I guess I got my hopes up that maybe we would be like a real family.  Like we would all live together and stuff.”

Emma sighed.  “I know, kid.  To borrow a phrase from your mother, let’s just take this one step at a time.”

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Dinner had turned out to be as delicious and comforting a meal Regina had ever prepared.  She knew it was Henry’s favorite dinner but it was one of hers as well.  She enjoyed asparagus with it, although Henry declared it “disgusting” and Emma mainly found it to be useful to give herself “walrus fangs”.  After finishing his dinner, Henry had given a dramatic yawn and said that the early morning and the exciting day had tuckered him out.  Emma thought the kid had better not quit his day job if that was the best performance he could give. 

Regina’s blind spot for her son allowed her to buy it though and she gave him a kiss on his temple saying, “Go brush your teeth and make sure to do the whole two minutes.  I’ll be up in a few minutes to tuck you in.” 

He nodded solemnly and gave Emma a hug, whispering, “Good luck.”  She gave him a nervous smile and a wink as he turned to walk upstairs. 

Regina gathered the dishes and took them into the kitchen.  Emma followed her with the leftover food and began storing it in containers and carefully placing them in the fridge.  They worked together in silence cleaning up the kitchen.  After a few minutes, Emma cleared her throat and said, “I can finish up here, if you want to go tuck him in.”  Regina nodded and dried her hands on a towel, giving Emma’s arm a squeeze as she moved past her and upstairs.  Emma gave a deep sigh and resumed cleaning, the butterflies in her stomach rapidly reproducing.  It was time to go all in. 

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“Thank you, Mom.  This was a really amazing day.”

“Oh Henry, you’re most welcome.”

“I really like spending time with you and Emma together, you know.”

Regina smiled, “I know you do, Henry.  I do, too.”

“She really cares about you.”

Regina felt doubts creep up despite his words.  “Henry, I want you to listen to me.  I can’t know for sure what will happen between Emma and me.  Adult relationships are very complicated and Emma and I both have experienced a lot of pain in the past.  That can make it more difficult.”

Henry sighed, “I know that, Mom.  But you seem a lot happier now than you did before Emma came around.  And I know that she’s happier, too.”  He paused, seeming to struggle internally over whether his next question could be voiced.  It seemed he determined that it was worth the risk as he practically whispered, “Do you love her?”

Regina sighed again but otherwise remained silent for several long moments before responding, “Even if I did, that’s not the only factor to consider.”

Henry looked confused and said, “What do you mean?”

“Well, even if you love someone, sometimes that’s not enough.”

“Enough for what?  For her to love you back?”

Regina gulped audibly, the pain evident in her eyes as she replied, “That’s part of it, Henry.  I’ve not had a lot of good experiences with love.  People I love seem to get hurt or leave.”

“Daniel, you mean?”

“Yes, Daniel.  But my relationship with my parents was also very difficult, and I loved them.  I love you more than anything, but our relationship has not always been easy.”

Henry looked shamefaced at her words and said, “I’m sorry, Mom.”

“Oh sweetheart, you don’t need to be sorry.  Do you remember when I said I don’t know how to love very well?” He nodded.  “Well, this is the kind of stuff I meant.  I’ve never been very good at expressing how I feel.”

“But you are so much better, now.  And I won’t go anywhere again.  You just need to be honest with her like you are with me.  I know that it’ll be ok.”

Regina was unwilling to diminish his hope so she simply leaned over to kiss his forehead and brush his hair back and said, “I’ll try, Henry.  I promise.”

He truly yawned wide now as he settled more comfortably into his pillow.  She stood and turned the light off before opening the door.  She stopped when she heard a sleepy, “Mom?”

“Yes, Henry?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, Henry.  Good night.”

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Emma was pacing the study when Regina came downstairs.  She had already poured them tumblers of cider and was rehearsing what she planned to say to Regina when she came in the room.  She was so engrossed that she didn’t see Regina in the doorway.  Regina paused on the threshold, reminded strongly of their first “appointment” together and watching Emma pace outside her office window.  She wore an affectionate smile as she considered how far they’d come and yet how little some things had changed.  Smile fading, she sighed and entered the room.

Looking up as she heard Regina entered, Emma blushed at being caught wearing a track in the floor and found that despite the fifteen minute pep talk she’d given herself, she was completely unprepared for the unguarded and determined expression on Regina’s face.  She gulped in a breath and took a seat on the couch to stop her restless pacing, although her knee still bounced.

Regina sat beside her and placed an elegant hand on Emma’s knee, stilling her movement.  She said, “Emma, listen…”

“No, wait!  I…can I start?”

Regina inclined her head and took a sip of her cider, sitting back a bit to allow Emma to begin.

“Look, I’m really sorry for this morning.  I know that things have been weird all day.  I should never have just blurted that out like that.  I kind-of have that problem sometimes.”

“You? Blurting out words with no thought of the consequences?  Never.”  Regina’s mouth twitched and she fell comfortably into her role in their traditional banter.

Emma flushed and said, “Yeah, well.  I guess I wasn’t exactly raised with courtly airs or whatever.  I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry.  I mean it.”

Regina sighed and set down her glass.  “I know that you’re sorry.  I’m just not sure if you’re sorry for the right reason.”

Emma was unsure how to respond, so she gaped silently for a minute, hoping Regina would continue.  After several moments and a few more sips of cider, she did.  “Emma, I don’t ever want you to feel afraid to tell me what’s on your mind.  I hate that you’ve been walking on eggshells all day.  More than anything because I’m afraid that you have the wrong idea.”

Emma’s face dropped into a crestfallen expression.  She had been preparing herself for disappointment but it still stung.  She felt that she really should have known better than to think this could last – when had any relationships in her life lasted?

“Do you remember what I told you about Daniel?”

Emma’s heart had joined her stomach roughly in the vicinity of her ankles.  She nodded.

“Emma, before I knew you I did a lot of terrible things in vengeance for Daniel’s death.  Losing him twisted me in a way that made me lose the belief I had previously held in the power of true love.  But I was wrong.  The true love that I felt for Daniel, although it fueled a lot of terrible choices I made also helped me to survive in circumstances that might otherwise have defeated me.  I held firm to my love for him in every moment because it was the only connection I had to my humanity.  Until Henry came to me, I thought I’d never truly love again.  He changed everything.  But still, for many years, I believed my heart to be closed off from romantic love.”

Emma nodded again and chugged the remaining cider in her glass.

“It was always my desire, as a monarch, as a mother, in every aspect of my life to be loved.  Unfortunately, the only model I had of what love should be, my mother, treated my love for her as a tool.  She used it to take what she wanted from me.  I did not know another way to love.  Henry again changed everything for me.  He taught me that love was not about taking what you want from someone, it’s about giving them all of yourself and hoping that they will do the same for you.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t until you came to town that I learned that lesson and it was almost too late.  I’ve never had the timing part of love down.”

“Regina, it’s ok.  You don’t have to tell me that you love me.  I understand.”

“No, Emma, you don’t.  Daniel was…”

“Your True Love.  I understand.”

“Emma, stop saying that.  You don’t understand.  Daniel was my _first_ love.”

Emma’s head snapped up, her gaze fixed intensely on chocolate brown eyes before her.

“I lost Daniel without him ever getting to truly understand the extent of my love for him.  I nearly lost Henry before I could show him how much I care.  I’ve wasted every opportunity I’ve had before to express it, but I don’t want to do that this time.  Emma, I…”

“No, stop!”

Now it was Regina’s turn to look confused and upset, “No, Emma, I need to say this, I…”

“Stop it right there, Madame Mayor!”

“But why?”

Emma took Regina’s hands into her own and looked deep into her eyes. 

“I love you, Regina Mills.”

Regina broke their gaze, looking down at their joined hands.  “I know, Emma, but you’re not _in love_ with me.”

“No, I am.”

Regina looked up and Emma’s heart clenched at the hope she saw there.  “You are?”

Emma gave an eye roll that looked so much like their son that Regina couldn’t help but giggle.  Emma smiled back at her and said, “I was an idiot this morning.  I had not planned to tell you that casually during a discussion of plans for the day.  I got all freaked out that you would think it was too soon and I…uh, well, blurting problem.”

“Well, if that’s true, then why did you stop me saying it?”

“Because, you already stole my thunder at asking you out.  I wasn’t about to let you say this first, too.”

Regina’s eyes narrowed, “Seriously, Swan?”

“Hey, what can I say?  You’ve met your match, Mills.”  Emma gave a roguish wink and a broad grin before leaning closer, her eyes flicking down to ruby lips.

Regina gave a warm smile and murmured “It seems I have” throatily as she too leaned in.

Their kiss was tender and full of promise.  Emma pulled back after a moment and said, “Um…so, it would be ok if you wanted to say it now.  You know, for good measure.”

“Hmm...is that so?”

“Yeah, I mean, if you want.”

Regina allowed the pause to drag on, toying with the sheriff in an affectionate way.  She raised Emma’s hand to her mouth and kissed each knuckle before turning it over and planting a hot kiss on a pale palm.  She placed Emma’s hand under her own on her chest, her heartbeat quickening beneath long fingers.  She raised her gaze to Emma’s stormy eyes and took a deep breath.

“I love you, Emma Swan.”

Emma’s face split into the sunniest smile she’d ever seen and somehow the darkness that had blackened Regina’s heart since she was no more than a girl seemed to dissipate the slightest bit.  She felt her own smile stretching her cheeks and closed the distance between them again, proving the sincerity behind her words by pouring every ounce of affection and love into the kiss.  Unobserved by either woman, a gold and purple aura shone around them with the kiss and as their arms tightened around one another their magic bound them together in love. 

From his perch on the stairs above, Henry observed the magical connection and smiled.  His work here was done.  Operation Happy Ending was a massive success.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So at last we come to the conclusion, friends. I hope that you’ve enjoyed the story. There will be an epilogue posted soon.


	16. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, and added this story to their follows and favorites. The experience of writing this story has been amazing and I will miss it tremendously. I hope you enjoy the epilogue. 
> 
> Mega-thanks as always to my friend and beta-reader Hunnyfresh – this story would not be what it is without you.

Sans blindfold, Regina ascended the spiral staircase that approached the clock tower.  Emma followed behind her bursting with excitement and nerves.  She was certain her heart would explode before they even got through the first course.

The library was days from reopening and the building was beautifully remodeled.  Regina was pleased to see, though, that the clock tower itself had maintained its rustic atmosphere with the same exposed brick and unfinished feeling, although the floor had been redone and the table and chairs were now a permanent fixture.  The same type of orchids that Emma had placed on the table on their first date were sitting in a small vase matching the elegant place settings perfectly.  The same Christmas lights had been strung around the room providing a dim glow.

Emma pulled Regina’s chair out as she finished looking at the surroundings.  Emma herself only had eyes for the beautiful brunette across the table.  They sat and immediately Emma extended her hand palm up for Regina to place her own atop it, which she did.  Emma gave a winning smile and said, “Happy Anniversary”.

“Happy Anniversary, Emma.  This is all beautiful and so romantic.  Although you know, dear, if you wanted to replicate our first date, we really should be doing this in my office.”

“Oh no, Madame Mayor.  That was no date.  That was an appointment.”

Regina blushed at the reminder but gave a playful smirk, “I suppose I could concede the point.  Although I do recall a goodnight kiss.”

Emma beamed at her as her father came in carrying the first course.  Immediately, Regina’s posture stiffened and her smile dropped.  She scowled momentarily at Charming before remembering herself and adopting her best regal mask.  He had not missed the look, however and he cleared his throat awkwardly as he set the salad before them.  He gave a nervous smile to both of them and mumbled, “Happy Anniversary” before scurrying back down the steps.

“What was that all about?”

Regina’s mayoral smile stretched across crimson lips as she replied “I’m sure I don’t know.”

Emma’s lie detector went off like a foghorn but for the time being she decided to let it go so they could enjoy their special night together.  She could always bug Regina about it tomorrow until she got a real answer.  Instead she poured wine for them as Regina dished the salad, falling into their normal roles.  Once they had expressed their love for one another, the domestic habits were quick to follow although it was another six months before Emma and Henry had officially moved in.

“Would you like to toast or shall I?”

“If you’ll allow it, Madame Mayor, I would like the honor.”

Regina gave a small nod as she extended her glass and waited for Emma to speak.

“To you, Regina Mills.  This past year has been a dream come true and I’m honored to have spent it with you.  You challenge me and make me want to be the best version of myself.  I look forward to seeing where the future takes us.”

Emma gave a breathtaking smile as she extended her own glass to clink against Regina’s.  Their eyes never strayed from one another’s as they sipped their wine.  Their gaze lingered for a few moments more until Emma exclaimed, “Right!  Let’s eat, I’m starving!”

Regina gave an affectionate chuckle as they both began to enjoy their salad and share their favorite memories of their year together.  Their conversation paused only briefly as their entrees arrived carried by Snow, who attempted three times to say something, but eventually ran out with a tremulous sob.  Emma stared after her a moment before declaring, “My parents are really weird.”

“I’ve been trying to tell you that for ages, dear.”

When Henry came with their dessert he beamed at them both and gave each one a lingering hug and a kiss on the cheek before leaving the room with a mischievous grin.  After they had finished devouring their shared slice of turtle cheesecake he returned with two boxes.  Placing a small rectangular box in front of Emma and a larger one in front of Regina he said proudly, “Happy Anniversary, Moms.  I love you both,” and ran back down the stairs.

Emma’s eyes had lit up at the sight of what was clearly a jewelry box.  She had never before received jewelry from a suitor and she knew that Regina had exquisite taste.  Seeing her gleeful expression, Regina said softly, “You go first.”

Emma tore the perfect wrapping off the box in her haste to open it and inside found a beautiful silver chain with a perfect silver swan with a crown on its head.  The eye of the swan was a tiny emerald and within the center of the crown sat a small ruby.  Along the feathers of the wings were rows of tiny diamonds.  She looked up at Regina in awe.

“Regina, this is beautiful.”

“Yes, well…I thought perhaps it was time to put away the keychain.”  Regina’s tone was teasing but her face had flushed with pleasure that her gift was so well received.  She stood from her chair and walked behind Emma to clasp the necklace.  She leaned down and placed a tender kiss on Emma’s neck below her ear and then whispered, “It represents us together.  Do you…do you like it?”

Emma turned her face and caught Regina’s lips with her own, her hand cupping the nape of Regina’s neck.  “I love it.  Thank you.”

Regina placed another kiss on Emma’s lips before walking back to her seat.  Emma looked nervous but excited as Regina began to carefully pull away each piece of tape and folded the paper beside her before opening the box.  Inside were two leather-bound books.  She pulled out the top and opened the cover to find a picture of them and a handwritten message saying “Our First Year”.

“Emma, what is this?”

“Keep looking.”

As Regina turned page after page she found the book filled with memories of their first year together.  Emma had painstakingly glued in movie ticket stubs and theater playbills.  She had put in photos of the two of them enjoying a picnic on the beach with Henry, bowling with the whole Charming clan, laughing at the diner with Ruby, and all manner of other activities, some special and some completely mundane.  In every available space where there were not memories pasted in, Emma had written lyrics to all of their favorite songs. 

By the time Regina reached the end, silent tears were streaming down her face.  She looked up at Emma in awe to see her nervously smiling in response.  Regina gave a watery smile before looking down into the box and pulling out the other album.  Confused, she opened it to find three words written on the inside cover and the rest of the book completely blank.

“Happily Ever After?  But it’s empty.”

Emma rose from her chair and knelt down in front of Regina, taking delicate hands into her own and gazing into Regina’s wide eyes.

“I prefer to think of it as full of potential.  This last year has been the best of my life.  I finally found the family that I’ve wanted since I was old enough to understand what a family is.  You have made me happier than I ever knew I could be and if you’ll let me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy.  You are my true love and my happy ending.  I love you with all that I am.  Regina Mills, will you marry me?”

Regina’s eyes were swimming as she took in the sight of Emma glowing before her, her face full of hope.  Emma pulled a small velvet box out and extended it to Regina, opening it to reveal a beautiful green sapphire exactly the shade of Emma’s eyes set in a white gold band.  Regina gasped as she gazed at it and wondered how Emma knew that she found diamond rings impersonal.  After a few moments she realized she had failed to respond and Emma’s hopeful smile was rapidly becoming panicked before she said, “Yes.”

“You will?”  Emma squealed.

“Of course I will,” Regina wiped her streaming eyes as she extended her hand for Emma to place the right on her finger.  “Oh Emma, it’s perfect.”

Emma beamed at her and then lunged forward to catch her lips for a breathtaking kiss.  Regina pulled her closer and deepened the kiss before suddenly starting to laugh.  Emma broke the kiss off abruptly and pulled back.  “What’s funny?”

Regina said nothing but continued to laugh hysterically for several moments before she calmed herself down and said, “It’s…it’s nothing dear.  This just explains so much.”

Emma frowned and said, “Explains so much about what?”

“Your parents knew that you were proposing tonight, didn’t they?”

“Yes, of course.  They helped with the planning of the evening, why?”

“Well, you see.  I met with dear Charming last week to request his permission to ask for your hand.”

“You did?”

“Yes, I did.  And he acted very upset that I would ask.  He said that he felt he had done as much as anyone could expect by accepting us and that I could not ask for more.  He stormed out after that.”

“He did?”

“He did.”

“And you just left it at that?”

Regina looked up guiltily at the ceiling.

“Regina…what did you do?”

“I may have employed Pongo to wreak havoc with Perdita and the puppies.”

“You didn’t!”

“Well, they’re not going to hurt him.  They’ve just left him some special presents in his shoes for when he gets home tonight.  And he may want to wash his clothing.”

“Oh, Regina.”

“I thought he was judging me unworthy to be with you!  What would you have done?”

“I guess some mess in his shoes isn’t exactly as bad as a sleeping curse.  I’m a little surprised you let his lack of permission stand in your way.”

“Who said that I did?”

“But…”                                         

Regina stood to reach into her clutch and pulled out a small velvet box.  She knelt before Emma so that they were facing each other and took Emma’s hand in her own, placing it over her heart.

“Emma Swan, you are the most infuriating, intoxicating woman I’ve ever known.  Before you came into my life, I had known only loneliness and heartache for so many years I believed I would never be whole again.  When Henry brought you to Storybrooke, I reacted strongly to the threat you presented to my relationship with Henry.  Once you chose to stay I feared the threat that you presented to my heart.  If I allowed myself to have feelings for you it would mean upheaval of the world that I created.  But when you took the chance to bid in the auction, my world was changed regardless of my fear.  From that point on, the thing I feared losing most was not Henry or the curse, it was the way you made me feel.  I never want to be without that feeling again.  You and Henry are my family and my whole world.  And I plan to protect you and love you in this life and the next.”

Without another word, she opened the box and showed Emma a white gold band with an amethyst stone the exact shade of her magic surrounded by a circle of diamonds that resembled the necklace Emma never took off.  Emma gasped and then surged forward, pulling Regina’s body flush with her own where they knelt on the floor and kissing her fiercely.  She was unable to communicate with words the depth of the emotion she felt and found that this was her only means of expression.  When the need to breathe became impossible to ignore, she pulled back.  Both of their cheeks were wet with tears and it was impossible to say whose they were.  Regina reached down and put the ring on Emma’s shaking hand then kissed the knuckles underneath.

“Hey you guys, can we come up yet?”  Henry’s voice called out from the staircase.

Emma laughed and rested her forehead against Regina’s giving her one more tender kiss before calling back, “Get up here, kid,” and standing, extending her hand to help Regina up. 

Henry bounded up the stairs and stared around for a moment in silence, Charming and Snow coming up to stand behind him.  After a few moments silence Henry burst out, “So did she say yes?”

Regina held out her hand in response to show her ring on her finger.  Henry ran over and hugged them both around the waist screaming, “Yes!  Now we’re all a family!”

Snow wiped her tears away with pale fingers as Charming put his arm around her shoulder and cleared his suddenly choked throat.  They watched their little girl glowing in the arms of her son and the woman she loved and thought that maybe now they could finally have the peace they’d always desired. 

Emma broke away from the family first to walk over and embrace her mother, extending her own newly adorned hand to show the perfect ring Regina had selected.  Snow and Charming hugged her tightly to them and then walked with her over to mother and son.  Snow pulled a surprised Regina into a tight hug and whispered, “Now we are family as I always hoped we’d be.”

Regina found herself strangely choked up by the sentiment as Snow released her and Charming extended a hand to her.  “Regina, I…I’m sorry about the other day.  I was under orders not to spoil the surprise.  Congratulations.”

“Quite alright, Charming.  And for my part, I’m sorry about your wardrobe.  Perhaps this is an opportunity to step away from flannel.”

“Wait, what?”

But Emma stepped in to stop the situation escalating at that moment, “So now we just need to set a date and you can become Mrs. Regina Swan.”

“Oh no.  I don’t think so, Mrs. Emma Mills.”

“Mills-Swan.”

“Swan-Mills.”

“You have to have the last word in every argument, don’t you, Regina?”

“It’s not that I have to.  It’s just that I do.”

Emma gave an affectionate chuckle as she put her arms around Regina’s neck and pulled her close, saying “Don’t ever change, Regina Swan-Mills.”

Regina smiled broadly, liking the sound of her name and Emma’s joined in that way before she playfully swatted her and said, “Not yet, Miss Swan.  If you want to call me that, you’ll need to put a ring on it.”

Emma looked at her, shocked.  “First of all, I think I just did.  And second of all, did you really just quote Beyonce?”

“Darling, you know I use your iPod when I run.  It’s quite catchy.”

“You never cease to amaze me.”

Regina gave a playful smirk and leaned close before huskily murmuring, “Good,” and pulling Emma into a kiss that completely erased the memory of their son and Emma’s parents’ company.  At the sound of a forceful throat clearing from Charming, whose ears were beet red, they pulled apart reluctantly and turned to face their audience.

“Why don’t we take Henry for the rest of the night and you can…um…continue your celebration,” said Snow uncomfortably.

They both gave Henry a tight hug and kissed his forehead before saying goodnight.  After Charming and Snow descended the staircase with their son, Emma extended her hand to Regina and when their hands were joined, pulled her in front of the clock face to dance together in the moonlight.

Beneath them Storybrooke slumbered but for the three people making their way down the street who stopped to turn and watch the slowly revolving figures above them.  Unconsciously, Charming and Snow twined their fingers together as Henry beamed up at his mothers’ silhouettes and said, “I know they think this is their happy ending, but really it’s mine.  I always wanted to have my whole family together.”

“I think maybe you should think of it as a happy beginning, Henry.  For all of us,” Snow replied as Charming ruffled messy hair with his free hand.

“Yeah, you’re right!  Maybe I could have a brother!  I better ask my moms.”

Snow and Charming exchanged an amused glance above his head before Charming chuckled and said, “I think that maybe you should ask them tomorrow, though.  Let’s go home.”

SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ

“Regina?”

“Hmmm?”  Regina did not lift her head from Emma’s shoulder where it rested as they gently swayed to music all their own.

“What made you decide to bid on me?  In the auction, I mean?”

“What makes you ask that question now?”

Emma shrugged, “I’ve always wondered.”

Regina paused thoughtfully before lifting her head to meet green eyes.

“If you’d asked me at a number of different times, the answer would be vastly different.  In the moment it was an impulse.  I had the notion that you and I both had been pressured into roles we were unprepared for.  I saw myself as a young girl forced to become queen as I watched the men bidding for you.  After we started dating, I thought that perhaps the alcohol at the gala allowed my strong physical attraction to you to overpower my careful defenses.  But I don’t think that any of that explains it fully, although all of it may have played a role.”

“Then why did you?”

“I think that even then that a part of me knew that I was protecting my family.  I loved you long before I knew it and I couldn’t bear the thought of you being with anyone else.  Especially not after seeing how hopeful and elated you were when you won my auction.  Nobody had ever looked at me that way before and I could not let you down.”

Emma contemplated this for a minute before saying, “Are you sure it’s not just because I’m such a hot piece of ass?”

Regina chuckled and shook her head, saying, “Ever the romantic, aren’t you, my love?”

“That’s why you love me.”

“That’s one of very many reasons.”

“Regina?”

“Yes, Emma?”

“Let’s go home.  It’s time to get started on _happily ever after.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed.  Any parting words?


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